The Mole: Paper Mario Edition
by The Smart One 64
Summary: *Website located at the top of my profile* 12 characters from across the Paper Mario world embark on a journey that could be worth up to one million coins. But one of them isn't who they appear to be, as their purpose in the game is to thwart the attempts at earning the money. Can you spot the traitor? Who is the Mole?
1. Commence of the Conspirator

**And lo, I present to you an actual piece of writing for once in a millennium.**

**For those of you who don't know, The Mole was a reality TV show that started in the Belgium in 1999. From there, the concept gained popularity in several other countries. The first season in the US aired in 2001, beginning the first of five before it was canceled in 2008 due to lack of enough viewers. Sad story, I know. It is still ongoing internationally in Australia, Holland and Bulgaria, however! The rules of the game are listed at the beginning of this chapter, so there's no need to begin a Wikipedia hunt.**

**Also: I suggest you read the Mole stories of an author by the name of krisetchers, both The Mole: Traitor Aboard and The Mole: Saboteur's Island, as well as his current tale of deceit, The Mole: Agent's Elevation. These phenomenal pieces of fiction inspired me to join the site back in yester-years. Definitely be sure to check them out; trust me, you'll love them. :)**

**In addition, I also recommend checking out the Mole stories of Princess Toady; specifically, The Mole: Festive Saboteur and his current story, The Mole: Disguised Disgrace. You're bound to love both.**

**Finally, I have created a website that goes along with this story. The link is located at the top of my profile. Contents include developed player bios, mission overviews, as well as a gallery for future picture clues. Hope you enjoy!**

**Oh, and before I forget: Happy Mole Hunting. :P**

* * *

><p><strong>Episode 1 (Part 1)<strong>

_A beginning emerges. Twelve players were selected out of several entries to compete in a simple, yet difficult, game. They must undergo physical, mental, and potentially emotional tasks in a group effort to earn up to a potential 1 million coins. In the end, however, only one of them will walk away with the prize. Seems easy enough, right? Wrong. One of these players was secretly hired by our producers as the Mole. Their job is to thwart the group's attempts at putting money into the pot by sabotaging missions. Their identity is unbeknownst to the other eleven, but they will want to find out. At the end of each episode is a 10-question quiz about the Mole. The player with the lowest score is executed, and must leave the game immediately. Who can discover the traitor to take home the prize? And more importantly:_

Who is the Mole?

* * *

><p><strong>DAY 1 08:00:AM<strong>

**LOCATION: TOAD TOWN**

* * *

><p>"CHOOOOOOOO CHOOOOOOOO!"<p>

A coal train swiftly pulled into a passenger station near the south end of a Mushroom-inhabited vicinity. The wheels eased into a stationary position before the train's conductor blew the horn one final time.

Here, at Dry Dry Railroad, would be where twelve eager competitors from across the Paper Mario series begin a month-long adventure that would change their lives forever. For at the end of the journey, one lucky player will walk away with a check that could be worth up to one million coins, depending on how much they and their fellow comrades can work together as a team.

The camera panned to show a blue-spotted Toad strolling alongside the railroad tracks.

"The battle for the money won't be that easy, however. Among eleven genuine contestants is a person we like to call 'The Mole'. They have been hired by our producers to thwart the group's efforts at succeeding in the challenges while at the same time keeping their identity hidden from the others."

Blue Toad grinned eerily at the camera. "So? Can you determine the traitor? We'll find out, as The Mole: Paper Mario Edition begins."

* * *

><p>Two conductors abruptly swung open one of the compartment doors. The player inside, partially blinded by the sudden sunlight, stepped out onto the pavement.<p>

_**"BANDY" ANDY**_

SURNAME: Ali

SPECIES: Bandit

BIRTHDAY: November 5

OCCUPATION: Prof. Fighter

After the green bandit disembarked, a second player smiles at the scenery before exiting the locomotive.

_**DIMENTIO**_

SURNAME: DeJest

SPECIES: Unknown

BIRTHDAY: October 30

OCCUPATION: Magician

A third competitor hopped off the train. She looked at her surroundings in eager anticipation before running to join the others.

_**GOOMBELLA**_

SURNAME: Frankly

SPECIES: Goomba

BIRTHDAY: June 16

OCCUPATION: Archaeologist

After the first compartment was emptied, the conductors opened the second. Another person smelled the fresh air and stepped out.

_**KOOVER**_

SURNAME: Shelldon

SPECIES: Koopa Troopa

BIRTHDAY: May 21

OCCUPATION: Weatherman

The next occupant from the second compartment sprung onto the platform, alert and ready to begin.

_**BREE "MS. MOWZ"**_

SURNAME: Mowz

SPECIES: Squeek

BIRTHDAY: December 13

OCCUPATION: Badge Shop Owner

A final player hesitantly stepped off train. She adjusted her glasses before resuming a stroll.

_**NASTASIA**_

SURNAME: Batglass

SPECIES: Bat

BIRTHDAY: May 5

OCCUPATION: Secretary

A third passenger compartment on the train revealed three additional players, the first nervously bracing themselves for the game.

_**SUSHIE**_

SURNAME: Cheepkins

SPECIES: Cheep Cheep

BIRTHDAY: April 2

OCCUPATION: Nanny

Following the Cheep Cheep was a competitor who stuffed a magnifying glass into his pocket before disembarking.

**_PENNINGTON_**

SURNAME: Holmes

SPECIES: Bumpty

BIRTHDAY: February 27

OCCUPATION: Detective

The compartment's final occupant gently tumbled onto the pavement. He resumed stance and flew towards the group.

_**PARAKARRY**_

SURNAME: Mailora

SPECIES: Paratroopa

BIRTHDAY: July 21

OCCUPATION: Postal Worker

Finally, the conductors unbolted the last compartment. The first to depart adjusted her bow and leaped off the train's platform.

**_MAMAR_**

SURNAME: Starly

SPECIES: Star

BIRTHDAY: November 23

OCCUPATION: Charity Sponsor

Closely behind, the next player delicately stepped down from the her compartment, eyes sparkling with excitement.

_**PEACH**_

SURNAME: Toadstool

SPECIES: Human

BIRTHDAY: February 18

OCCUPATION: Politician

The final contestant clasped his hands behind his back and prodded off the train.

_**VINNY**_

SURNAME: Pianta

SPECIES: Pianta

BIRTHDAY: March 29

OCCUPATION: Bodyguard

* * *

><p>Just as Vinny caught up with the others in the collected group, the conductor blew his whistle one final time before pulling out of the station entirely. They were alone.<p>

"...well, I guess we're allowed to talk now," Mamar conjectured, attempting to break the silence between them.

"Man, I'm stoked!" Bandy Andy cheered, pumping his fist. The rest laughed in agreement.

Pennington craned his neck to read the nearby street sign. "Toad Town, I presume?" he asked, partially glancing at Peach in the process.

"Pretty sure it is," she said cheerfully. "You've got to love this place."

Goombella grinned. "I'm just glad to be out of Rogueport again!"

After observing the rest of her companions, Sushie extended a fin to Vinny. "Well, I might as well start the introductions. I'm Sushie. And your name?"

"...um...Vinny," The Pianta remained motionless, leaving Sushie to awkwardly withdraw her gesture.

"...yeah. K, so what are we supposed to be doing right now? I'm pretty sure we weren't stranded here without reason," Nastasia pointed out. The other players couldn't give a response other than a mere shrug.

Parakarry scratched the back of his neck. "Maybe we're just supposed to wait here."

Dimentio just shook his head. "Sure. So when we remain here like frozen penguins solitary in the barren cold, what happens next?"

"I dunno, maybe a stork will drop off our instructions or something," Koover said jokingly.

"Wait!" Ms. Mowz interjected. She took in a whiff of the air surrounding her before doing a backflip. "Nope. We need to head North."

"...uuuuuh..."

"Well indeed! Looky there!" Pennington said, pointing at the path leading away from the train station. Sure enough, a noticeable arrow constructed of flower petals was strategically placed along the path in front of them. "A clue! JUST as I suspected!"

"Not to steal your thunder, but I think it's sole purpose is direction," Bandy Andy commented. "Onwards, then?"

After a moment of brief observation, the players all reached the same conclusion and began walking down the path, passing a pen of Lil' Oinks that scrambled at the sound of their nearby footsteps. Seeing the confusion and chaos reminded them of the purpose of their game.

"So how do you guy's feel about having a 'Mole' among us?" Sushie asked in hopes to start a conversation.

"It definitely adds a whole new definition to the word 'trust', that's for sure," Koover said.

"I think it'll be a blast," Goombella reflected. "It's like one big mystery." Pennington perked up at this seven-letter word.

"Still, having to lie constantly? Whoever the Mole is, it almost seems like they have it tougher. One wrong move and everyone knows who you are," Mamar stated.

"Ah, and was that perhaps your first?" Dimentio smirked. "What? Why else would you sympathize with him? Have you already forgotten that his intent is to prevent money, not gain it?"

"Hey, this 'Mole' could be feminine as well, you know," Peach added defensively.

"Let's make dis easy then. Will da real Mole please step forward?" Vinny joked, helping to break the ice between them.

Ms. Mowz raised an eyebrow. "Didn't someone say that on the first season of the US Mole?"

"And weren't they the first one executed?" Parakarry added. Vinny attempted to hide a gulp.

"...so, we gonna continue acting like Chatty Cathys or are we gonna figure out where it is we're going?" Nastasia remarked. The players reentered the reality of the game they were in as they began to approach a flower garden.

Parakarry frowned. "Hm...the arrow was constructed from flowers, so I'm guessing...here?"

"This is not frustrating at ALL. How are we supposed to compete in this if we have no managers...er, producers to even inform us of what we're doing?" Bandy Andy asked, agitated that they were only being followed by cameramen and sound crew.

"Because this is where we're supposed to be, sweetie!" Ms. Mowz was standing next to a conveniently placed sign at the right side of a conveniently placed door in Minh T.'s garden.

"Let me have a look," Pennington said, pushing his way past Vinny's large physique to have a glance. It read 'THIS WAY TO THE MOLE' in simple, ebony-colored letters. One final arrow pointed to the left, towards the door itself.

"Hoo, someone needs a little assistance in their penmanship," Sushie kidded, regarding the messy clutter of letters.

"Not to mention the blood red arrow that looks like it was just splattered on. Makes it all suspicious, I guess," Koover observed.

Dimentio began to grow impatient. "We can look at this all day like little children in a toy shop of signs, but I'd like to follow where the arrow leads us," he said, motioning towards the wooden door in front of them.

"Uh...what exactly is da significance of this?" Vinny questioned, looking at Goombella for an answer.

"Sorry, the only magical door I'm familiar with is over a thousand years old," she replied.

Peach laughed a little. "I might be of help. This door actually provides direct access to Flower Fields. And the arrow appears to lead the way. I'm pretty sure we're supposed to go inside in that case."

"One way to find out. Yeah. Hey, FYI, we're leaving now, K?" Nastasia said to Mamar, who was busy trying to memorize the sign's layout.

"Sorry, sorta zoned out. Well, let's get going then!" Mamar politely held the door open as the twelve players entered, mixed with anxiety and curiosity.

The Mole smiled as the door shut behind them, sealing them off from Toad Town. Their job of espionage was about to begin.

* * *

><p>"WELCOME!"<p>

The twelve players were startled to see Blue Toad occupying the entrance in Flower Fields. Though they knew they should face the Toad, many couldn't help but drift their attention to the millions of flowers and other plants that engulfed their surroundings.

"Unbelievable..." Sushie's voice trailed, overwhelmed by the brilliant color show surrounding them.

"Whoa, is that a tree we're underneath?" Goombella gasped, pointing to the giant oak concealing the sun through it's protective branches.

"All right, all right, I can dig this joint," Bandy Andy contemplated.

Koover grinned. "Game on, Mole! Game on!"

"This place is spectacular, I know. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm your host for this game, Blue Toad. But please, just call me Blue. Never mind that, though. Introductions can be saved for another time, despite their vital importance. Now, I'm certain you're all aware of the rules, so I'd like to ask each of you to write down two people you think are the Mole." A few gasps of disbelief were shared between the players.

**Goombella:**_ Already, the host is asking us the game's most crucial question. I know that it has to be answered if I want a shot at winning the game, but I wasn't expecting to do so within the first two seconds. A million thoughts are going through my head as I'm thinking, 'Are these going to be announced? Is this a surprise first execution?' I mean, I hardly even know these people to come up with a reasonable choice!_

Each contestant was given an individual marker and leaf that consisted of twelve names for each player. After taking a minute or two to highlight their selections, Blue collected the leaves and, to the relief of the players, left to tally the results.

"Gee, things sure have gotten rather lively, haven't they?" Ms. Mowz remarked playfully. Her peers could only agree with her.

"The dramatic suspense! It's toxic! Run before it's too late!" Parakarry joked.

"Not much of a head start, though. Blue's returning," Vinny observed.

"Well, after tallying all of your selections, I can assuredly inform you that your top two selections on the Mole are..." The players awaited what the host was about to reveal.

"Peach and Koover." Peach was taken aback by this sudden update while Koover seemed equally surprised but continued listening.

**Peach:**_ I was honestly shocked when Blue announced that my fellow players selected me as one of their top Mole candidates. I'm not sure if it was based on the minimal conversation I've conducted with them or just first impressions, but I now know how I hold among the others._

**Koover:**_ It's a weird feeling, knowing that you're going to be playing the game with people who right off the bat think you are the Mole. It kinda gave me a wake-up call that the game had really started. Still, I'm not sure whether this is a good or bad position to be in, so we'll see how this pans out._

"Gee, thanks guys," Peach retorted.

"Now, if you two would please follow me," Blue said, motioning for them to come with him. After Koover and Peach were out of hearing range, the slightly diminished group resumed conversation.

Dimentio chuckled in such a manner as to grab the attention of the others. "What's so amusing?" Ms. Mowz asked.

"Oh, just the irony in what Koover said earlier. Game on indeed, _Mole_."

Pennington raised an eyebrow. "Well, wouldn't you agree that the game is officially starting? We're probably commencing something crucial as we speak!"

Bandy Andy nodded. "Looks like the choices we just made weren't just for survey, eh?"

"Yeah, it's probably a bad thing if the two 'Moles' are being isolated from the rest of us," Nastasia commented.

"I guess we'll find out if they're truly Moleish or not based on their actions," Mamar said.

Sushie remained flabbergasted by it all. "I must confess, I didn't even select either one of them!" she stated openly.

"Yo! Zip it! We probably aren't supposed ta talk about who we picked!" Vinny cautioned. Parakarry just rolled his eyes.

"To be fair, Blue didn't give us any instruction," Goombella said.

"Probably because it seems like he's giving it to them," Pennington said, staring at the host talking to Peach and Koover about 50 meters away.

* * *

><p>"Congratulations you two! I have no idea why, but you are currently the group's top two suspects!"<p>

"Wow. I feel _so_ comforted now," Koover sarcastically remarked, causing Peach to laugh a little.

"Still, it might not be a bad thing necessarily. You two supposed saboteurs will be playing a vital part of your first mission."

Peach placed her head between her hands. "Of course!"

"Hopefully, you've socialized with your fellow players, or shall I say accusers, enough to make good judgments about them. If not, then here's hoping your first impressions are accurate for your benefit. Welcome to your first test! I like to call it "Commencing Countdown". In order to succeed, you must decide the events that your fellow compatriots must participate in. The first requires them to partake in a tandem paraglide off of those clouds up there." Blue pointed to the Cloudy Climb above him. Peach gasped at the height.

"We'll have a ton of friends at the end of the day," Koover laughed, merely shaking his head.

"Hey, maybe they'll enjoy trusting the wind?" Blue teased lightheartedly. "You must choose four players to paraglide. Next, we have the Sun Tower repelling." He turned his head to see the elevated tower towards the Northwestern edge of Flower Fields.

Peach started laughing. "What is this with all the height activities?"

Blue shrugged his shoulders. "I don't make the challenges. Anyways, three people must complete the repel, and they'll have 30 minutes to do so."

He then walked a little toward the Northeast. "Here, we have the infamous block puzzle. These switches are color-coordinated and move either up or down depending on which switch is pressed. You must choose two people to reach the end of the block puzzle, and they'll have twenty minutes to do so. I suggest you choose people who are both smart and patient at the same time."

"And I wonder what the last person will partake in," Koover commented, having calculated the required numbers in his head.

"Indeed. The last person must make their way through the Rose Garden Maze." Blue pointed towards the hedged labyrinth towards the West. "They will have ten minutes to finish the maze."

Peach nodded slowly. "And so the power lies in our hands," she muttered.

"The players you choose aren't the only thing that matter, though," Blue continued. "You'll also place money amounts by the certain tasks, equaling 5000, 10000, 15000, and 20000 coins. Should everyone complete their tests, you'll automatically win 50000 coins for the group pot. However, should any group fail their required mission, you will not earn any money you designated for that task. Understand?" They both nodded.

"So, we essentially have to place the higher money amounts by the groups we feel most confident in," Koover responded.

**Peach:**_ This definitely seemed like it would be a tough challenge. After the others already made their decision in choosing Koover and myself as the Mole early on, we now are required to make even heftier decisions about their abilities. I don't know these people well enough yet. And if they fail, the weight still falls on our shoulders. Not the perfect spot to be in._

"Well then, who do you want to go paragliding?" Peach asked her partner.

"They can't be afraid of heights, that's for sure," Koover said. "What if we start with the one and two-person tasks first?"

"I think Goombella should definitely be working on the puzzle," Peach remarked.

"Yeah, definitely her. And...Pennington? Since it seems like he's some sort of a detective?" Koover asked.

"Sounds good to me. Parakarry and Mamar should probably do the paragliding since they're used to higher places."

"Just what I was about to say. And possibly Bandy Andy since he seems tough enough."

"It seems like the challenges with the most people will be the most difficult to complete," Peach speculated.

After a few minutes of quick decision-making, the two reached a conclusion and approached Blue with it.

"All right then, so who will be performing the paragliding?" Blue asked.

"Parakarry, Mamar, Bandy Andy, and Vinny," Koover responded.

"Ms. Mowz, Dimentio, and Sushie for the repelling," Peach added.

"Goombella and Pennington will solve the block puzzle," Koover continued.

"And that leaves Nastasia for the maze," Peach finished.

After also determining the money amounts each task would be worth, Blue nodded and headed back to the rest of the players. Peach and Koover were not permitted to return, and were instead given seating a good distance away from the others.

**Koover:**_ I think the worst part was not being granted any means of communication. Peach and I had to go with our initial reactions about them and could only hope they would be successful. Plus, I kinda want to find out more about these people. I know the first quiz is going to be the hardest because we haven't had much time to make candid suspicions, so I'm kinda at a disadvantage right now._

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, the presumably innocent contestants continued to mingle beneath the Wise Wisterwood, having been provided no instructions after their host disappeared.<p>

**Nastasia:**_ ...I mean, if you're going to isolate when we're all bubbling to the brim with anticipation and confusion, you could at least inform us what is happening and how we should act accordingly._

"How about we get back to those introductions?" Parakarry suggested.

"Not sure how much time we'll have. Blue's returning," Ms. Mowz said, extending her tail in the direction of their approaching host.

"Well, I hope the ten of you didn't miss me in my absence," Blue Toad stated, walking up to the relieved group of ten.

Dimentio shrugged. "Only thing I care about you doing is easing our confusion."

"Ah, and that is my sole intent. As you can see, I have been conversing with your two Mole candidates. Here's hoping they aren't as suspicious as you think, because they will be playing a crucial part in the success of your first challenge." The players could only groan.

"Figures," Vinny smirked.

"Your first test is called 'Commencing Countdown,' and should you play your parts well, it could bank you 50000 coins. Koover and Peach were occupied with assigning each of you a specific task that you must complete. Not only that, but they have also placed money amounts with each task you guys perform, ranging between 5000, 10000, 15000, and 20000 coins."

"Do we get to know what price they labeled each task?" Mamar asked.

Blue burst into laughter. "Of course not! You're signed up for the Mole, after all!" The group didn't feel reassured.

"If that's all then, let's get to the first task. Parakarry, Mamar, Bandy Andy, Vinny, please follow me." The four nominees hesitantly walked behind Blue as the producers guided the other six to a separate viewing point.

"They sure like to divide the group up early on," Pennington speculated.

"I'm more concerned about not being able to control Peach and Koover's decisions, both the selected players and the money amounts," Sushie remarked.

"Yeah. Sorry we didn't exactly pinpoint you when you wanted us to, Mole," Nastasia retorted.

"Oh please, you've been adding retorts to every little comment even made," Goombella said, causing Nastasia to back down.

Dimentio's eyes continued to follow the host and the other four. "Where's he taking them off too?" From their viewpoint, it almost appeared as if they were being lifted along a large, green vine that extended into the air past the clouds. As they drew farther and farther away, Ms. Mowz closed her eyes in realization.

"Dearie, I think Jack just climbed the beanstalk."

* * *

><p>"You've gotta be kidding me right now," Bandy Andy said as they arrived at the top of the clouds. Nervously, he extended a foot and was surprised to discover it withheld his weight.<p>

"Breathtaking, I know," Blue Toad sputtered.

"My choice of words would have been breath-removing, but that works too I guess," Mamar replied nervously.

The host guided them further along the path of clouds. "Unfortunately, your task isn't testing how well you can take in the view, though I suppose you could argue the view part."

"Dat's not what I think it is, is it?" Vinny asked. Their jaws dropped when they noticed four individual parachutes alongside four individual instructors.

"If your thoughts tell you that you four must complete a tandem paraglide off the clouds to the ground below, then yes," Blue responded almost sadistically. Despite the knowledge that it would be tandem, the idea of gliding down from their height still didn't appeal to them.

"Do we have to go all at once?" Parakarry asked, trying to hide any potential fear in his voice.

"One by one until you all have jumped. Keep in mind though; if any one of you refuses to paraglide, you won't earn any money placed with this task. Understood? Good. I suggest you start soon. The ants you call friends down there seem to be acting a little, shall we say, antsy." With that remark, Blue left for the beanstalk.

For a while they remained speechless until Vinny broke the silence. "Look, I'm not even sure da paraglider will be able to hold my weight, let alone combined with da instructor's."

"Hey, you still have to jump!" Bandy replied. "There's no chickening out now. We're paragliding. And that's a fact."

"What order should we go in though?" Parakarry asked.

"Can we talk about this in a little bit? I'd like to get suited up first if you don't mind," Mamar suggested, already progressing toward a Toad instructor.

* * *

><p>"Something tells me Blue didn't give them all the details," Koover commented, noticing the tense focus the six on the ground had towards the sky.<p>

Peach squinted her eyes. "Well, they're totally invisible to us up there. I hate not being able to see what's going on."

"This mission seems like it'd be fairly simple to sabotage. Being struck with sudden acrophobia before your turn."

Peach nodded in agreement. "All we can do is trust what they tell us happened."

* * *

><p>After being fully geared and given a brief saftey instruction and equipment check, the four paragliders met back up in a circle.<p>

"I regret looking over da edge now," Vinny muttered, gaining a sick feeling in his stomach. "It's a lengthy ways down before actually going kaput."

"Way to make the rest of us feel better," Mamar sighed.

Bandy Andy cocked his head back. "This is INSANITY!" he shouted towards the sky above him.

"Come on guys. Remember what Blue said," Parakarry reminded. "Sooner we complete this, sooner we can move on with the game."

"No one seems too keen on being the first to set sail, though," Bandy Andy said. He glanced at the professionals, already growing impatient at the wait.

"Any volunteers for the first suicide?" Vinny asked. He didn't receive a response.

When still no one moved forward, Mamar groaned. "Fine, I guess I'll go first, just to show you guys what it's all about," she teased.

"Eh, I'm fine with going," Bandy Andy stuttered.

"What, afraid to lose your masculinity because a girl is braver than you?" Parakarry joshed, causing the green bandit to blush red.

"No, just I...er...ladies first," he replied. After adjusting her signature bow, the Star Spirit went over to join her instructor.

"Willing ta bet she chickens out," Vinny wagered. Parakarry was not amused.

"Dude, she'll be fine. She has to be fine, or else we win zilch."

"Unless she's the Mole," Bandy Andy whispered.

The tandem instructor assigned to Mamar was pleased when she walked up to him. "Ready to go paragliding?" he asked nicely.

Mamar sighed. "Ready as I'll ever be..."

**Mamar:**_ I volunteered first not because I figured it would be fun. Truth be told, I love heights, but the thought of freefall is NOT my cup of tea._

"Now remember, in order to have a smooth liftoff, we'll need to run down this slope as soon as the wind starts trying to blow us outward," the instructor reminded, hooking himself up with Mamar's suit. Mamar's breath pattern started to increase as she was finished being buckled together.

"You don't have to imitate the wind, though," he said, hoping to calm Mamar's nerves.

"It's sorta involuntary now," Mamar responded nervously.

"Just relax and enjoy the ride, okay? The wind's picking up. You ready?"

Mamar closed her eyes and bit her lip. "Er...yes. Oh dear oh dear oh dear-" Mamar nearly fainted as her instructor pushed her across the cloud. When they were about to reach the edge, he pulled up on the cords, sending them gliding in the air. Bandy Andy, Parakarry, and Vinny cheered as Mamar began to slowly sail to the ground below.

"Okay, I'm so next!" Bandy Andy said, already running to find his tandem partner.

* * *

><p>Back on the ground, Dimentio was growing reckless. "Yeesh, are they just going to stand on an unnatural cloud until the trap door breaks and they get flushed out with the precipitation?"<p>

"What the heck are they doing that high up in the first place? That doesn't look safe to me. At least from down here," Ms. Mowz noted.

"It should be fine. When I was adventuring with Mario, they handled our collective weight perfectly," Sushie explained.

"Yeah. And you think the clouds from almost a decade ago are still here?" Nastasia snapped.

"Oh my gosh! Look!" Goombella shouted. At that moment in time, someone had just jumped from the clouds and was beginning their tranquil descent.

Pennington raised his magnifying glass. "Looks like Mamar to me."

"Man, I am so jealous right now," Goombella sighed, trying to keep the sun out of her eyes so she could see.

"Well, one person did their task. Question is, will the rest of them?" Dimentio wondered. The rest could do nothing more than simply hope.

* * *

><p>Bandy Andy was jumping up and down on the cloud. "I am SOOOOOOOOO pumped for this now! Let's pick it up wind!"<p>

After a short time of waiting, a breeze pushed the two from behind, signaling their run.

"GERONIMO!"

Parakarry and Vinny clapped for Bandy Andy's success. Two down, two more to go.

"You wanna go next?" Parakarry offered.

Vinny shook his head. "No way dude. I don't trust dis thing. I'll feel better if you went first."

"What? So you can change your mind at the last minute? I know I'm going paragliding. You're the one I'm worried about."

"Yeah, I'm kinda worried about MYSELF too, dude!"

Parakarry nearly growled. "Fine, but you'd better be quick to follow, Mole." Vinny gave him a nasty look as he headed off.

* * *

><p>"Go Mamar! WOOOO!"<p>

The players on the ground continued cheering for the first paraglider as she drew closer and closer. As they were about to land, the Toad had Mamar pull up on the cords, helping them gently ease onto the flower cushion.

"That was AWESOME!" Mamar cheered as she unclipped herself from her chute. The others ran to join her in celebration.

"Any clue who went after you?" Pennington asked, noticing a second glider steadily progressing toward the ground. Mamar simply shrugged.

"How was it like?" Goombella pitched in.

"And you sure if the others are gonna jump?" Nastasia questioned.

"One question at a time, please! I'm still trying to catch my breath!" Mamar pleaded as she thanked her instructor and cleared out of the landing spot.

Ms. Mowz smiled. "That hunk o' cheese fighter is about to make his debut with the ground once more."

Sure enough, about a minute later, Bandy Andy landed. He received the same response as his preceder.

**Bandy Andy:**_ Man, I have GOT to that again sometime! Seriously, the adrenaline rush of the boxing ring didn't even compare to the breathtaking flight I got to experience. The view was unbelievable, too! _

"Congratulations!" Sushie cheered as she shook the hands of both gliders.

"Don't celebrate too early like children on their half birthdays. Parakarry and Vinny are still up there," Dimentio pointed out.

* * *

><p>Blue had already returned to the ground before Mamar had even began her task. Now, he joined Peach and Koover as they watched the success of two of the players they had selected.<p>

"Well, that's halfway comforting," Koover said.

"I'll feel at ease when they're all on the ground," Peach stated. Koover could only agree.

"Any thoughts on how the other two will hold up?" Blue asked them.

Koover bit his tongue. "I'm pretty sure they'll do it. They both seemed like they'd be brave enough to handle it,"

"Still, one of them could be the Mole," Peach pointed out.

"Wait! Sweet, I see another glider!"

* * *

><p>Parakarry cheered like a madman as he and his tandem instructor were blown into the air. He attempted to look back at Vinny before disappearing beneath the clouds.<p>

"Is the other instructor a good convincer?" he shouted to the Toad behind him.

"I'd guess so for the most part. He can't force your friend into jumping, though." Parakarry frowned a little as he steered the glider a little towards the left.

**Parakarry:** _I really don't want to think that the Mole would sabotage the first mission as blatantly as to blow their cover right away. Still, I can't help but shake the possibility that they might. They can make one minor little boo-boo and jeopardize the mission in the process._

"Good job Parakarry!" Sushie encouraged as the third paraglider crew mounted.

"Was Vinny right behind you when you left?" Pennington asked out of curiosity.

"I don't know," he replied, unable to provide a better answer.

The players all turned to face the sky in unison. Only one more remained to earn whatever money amount had been placed on that task. The Mole could only smile at the concerns and confusion the genuine players faced trying to determine who he or she was. And the challenge wasn't even a quarter of the way completed.

* * *

><p><strong>I have a hunch this is gonna be a long challenge to write. :P<strong>

**Voila! A new story! As if I didn't have several already in the makings! The suspense of the game is already building within the first chapter. Who do you think is the Mole? Leave a review with your suspicions!**

**Also, just a few things to clarify:**

**Bandy Andy's real name is just Andy. His fighter's name, however, is "Bandy Andy" and that's what he typically goes by.**

**'Bree' is also Ms. Mowz. I sincerely doubt that Ms. is a first name, so I just made one up, but I'll still refer to her as Ms. Mowz.**

**Lastly, Koover is not Kooper. They are two separate characters that I did not mix up.**

**Thanks for reading! Vote on the poll on my profile as well if you're interested.**


	2. Tulips to Lie With

**YOWZA. Bet you weren't expecting that year and a half hiatus, now were ya? Actually, you probably were, because I've probably gained fame simply because of my reputation as a horrible updater. So...let's just call it two weeks, okay? :P**

* * *

><p><strong>Episode 1 (Part 2)<strong>

The clouds in the sky over Flower Fields were slowly starting to describe the mood of the players on the ground as they waited in angst to discover the results of the final jump. Vinny currently stood a couple thousand feet above their heads, but remained out of eyesight.

"I swear, if he doesn't jump, regardless if he's the Mole or not, I'm gonna be...displeased," Dimentio complained, kicking a nearby flower stem.

"Hey! You don't have to vent your anger on wildlife," Sushie pleaded, irritated by his immaturity.

Suddenly, a faint object flew out from the cloud. After a few seconds of squinting, the players recognized Vinny's paraglider coasting to the ground.

"Yes! Four for four...er, whatever!" Bandy Andy cheered.

"Yeah, at least we'll be earning something," Nastasia added cautiously.

**Vinny:**_ My motivation ta go along with it had nothin' to do with da game, but rather my reputation at da syndicate. I'm proud of my size, and I don't want them to see a moment when I fear it. An' I swear, if you use dis clip, someone is getting it._

Vinny remained frozen in his speech, even after making contact with the ground. The group ran to him in congratulations as he removed himself from the glider.

"I'm jealous now! You guys made it look easy!" Goombella complimented. The four success stories beamed.

"Just have to keep up your guys' end of the draw, and 50000 coins is ours baby!" Parakarry cheered.

"Congratulations!" Blue Toad greeted, reappearing nearby. "I know you're dying to discover how much Koover and Peach bet on your victory, but we have three more challenges to complete before then. Now, if you'd follow me, please."

* * *

><p>Koover held his hand above his eyes to shield them from the sun as he watched Vinny make the descent. "That's everyone!"<p>

"Good thing we chose them, then!" Peach added, highfiving Koover.

* * *

><p>After a five-minute nature hike across a log, over some vines, and through even more flora, the host stopped in front of a multiple-story high building. Several fallen rocks from the structure laid scattered along the side of the weathered tower.<p>

"This looks a bit...intimidating. But interesting," Pennington observed.

"I bet this place is just crawling with tidbits of archaeological remnants," Goombella grinned.

"So, what is the significance of this, Mr. Blue?" asked Ms. Mowz curiously.

"Hm...I like the sound of that. Mr. Blue. How official," the host beamed. "This is also the official place of your next 'plunder'." On cue, several producers draped ropes and hooks alongside the tower.

"Still intimidated?" The group cheered at the sign of a challenge. "The 'archaeological remnant' in front of you is the Sun Tower, which serves as a resting place for the Sun of Flower Fields as it journeys across the sky each day. Peach and Koover have assigned three of you to rapel down the side of the Sun Tower within 30 minutes or less."

"Dang..." Bandy Andy trailed.

Sushie's eyes drifted from the tower to the host. "So, who out of us is participating in this 'plunder'?"

"A total of three: Dimentio, Ms. Mowz, and yourself." Sushie's stomach nearly sank as the other two remained anxious. "Well, no need to stand and wait. Head on up."

"Good luck you guys!" encouraged Mamar as the three began ascending the steps to the top, not knowing what to expect.

* * *

><p>"Hoo...those stairs...are brutal!" Sushie exclaimed, clutching her stomach once she reached the top.<p>

"Please, that was easier than climbing Pagoda Peak with an escalator," Dimentio remarked coolly.

Ms. Mowz almost scoffed as she was approached with rapelling gear. "Please, I do this sort of thing on a daily basis without those. I'm practically a professional."

"Well, I'm certainly not going to reject them," Sushie added, willingly accepting the equipment.

**Sushie:**_ I've had an issue with heights for about as long as I can recall, which hasn't been THAT long but...well, you get the point. Still, knowing how this is The Mole, of course I have to face it early on._

"Seriously though. Repelling is a piece of cheese," Ms. Mowz informed the nanny. "Plus, it's not like we're climbing _up_ the tower."

"That certainly takes a load off," Sushie said. She finished gearing up as Dimentio resumed pacing impatiently.

"Are we starting anytime soon? The host gave us almost no instruction," he complained, irritated at the thought of wasting time. To answer his question, a television monitor on one of the ledges lit up, revealing Blue Toad.

"Hello players. In order to win whatever sum of coins your Moles bet on this challenge, each of you must make it to the ground via rapelling within an accumulative time of 30 minutes. Also, only person can be on the ropes at a time, which, by the way, starts now." Instantly the host vanished, replaced with a screen reading **29:59**, a number that gradually continued decreasing.

"Guys, the clock's starting," Sushie cautioned.

"I know. I have eyes that can visibly see that," remarked Dimentio. Sushie huffed in irritant response.

Ms. Mowz scooted her way to edge of the tower, hooking herself onto the cable. "Allow me to go first so I can show you the ropes, both literally and metaphorically."

"Be my guest," Dimentio motioned as Ms. Mowz began stepping one foot over the edge. Her hands clutched the cable as she released her other leg and began to kick off the side of the tower.

* * *

><p>Back on the ground, their seven companions nervously watched as they saw Ms. Mowz begin.<p>

"I could never do that," Parakarry commented, having been immediately influenced by the height.

"I've been rapelling on a spelunking tour once, but this looks a lot more difficult than simply lowering yourself," reflected Goombella. Nastasia rolled her eyes at the camera.

**Nastasia:** _I'm not sure what I think of some of the players at this point. One of them is already the Mole, and will definitely be sticking around until the very end. But, yeah, I have a slight tendency to get easily annoyed at other people or their habits or personalities or...whatever, I'm just hoping it'll be easy to put up with my fellow 'players' for the next month._

Bandy Andy whistled. "Dang, the tower almost looks as tall as the clouds we paraglided down from."

"Here's hoping we'll earn more moolah," Vinny grinned.

"I wouldn't get too confident. For all we know, our paraglide may have only been worth 5000 coins," Mamar replied, coolheaded.

As the players on the ground spectated the tower, Ms. Mowz withdrew her other leg from the tower, positioning herself along the side so that both feet were parallel to each other. In one hand, she held the ropes that the instructor would belay upon her descent; in the other, she clutched the downward rope that she would use to maneuver her way along the tower's face.

Ms. Mowz flashed a confident smile towards the camera attached to her helmet. "Cakewalk, really." Her fingers slid a large portion of the rope through the figure-eight descender which, to her surprise, released much more rope than expected. This caused her to fall backwards, her feet practically even with her head's elevation.

**Ms. Mowz: **_I don't need to remain humble when I say that I have scaled numerous wall-faces throughout my career. However, I tend to do so without the usage of safety equipment, so needless to say, I was caught off guard._

"You okay up there?" Pennington called out, concerned by her miscalculation.

"Never better, dearie," Ms. Mowz responded. Her voice hinted a trace of remorse, but she blew her compatriots a kiss of assurance. Parakarry's eyes widened.

Refocusing, Ms. Mowz took a calmer approach, repositioning herself in a more comfortable manner for her descent. She proceeded to glide down the wall, slowly, so as to regain form. After a few pulls from the rope, Ms. Mowz decided to kick off from the wall in hopes that it would pick up her speed. To her alarm, her feet slipped and the right side of her body made contact with the wall.

Dimentio glanced over the edge of the tower at the noise. "Hmm...not as grand a cakewalk for her, it would seem," he slyly remarked. Sushie reached a similar conclusion.

"That...doesn't look too comfortable," Parakarry said, pointing to Ms. Mowz as she attempted to swing her body around so that he back was away from the tower.

* * *

><p>"It seems to me like she's struggling quite a bit," Peach observed, passing her binoculars to Koover so he could have a look.<p>

"Wouldn't you agree that she seemed like a natural fit for this task, though?" Koover asked. "You said she had a reputation as a thief from what Mario told you."

Peach shrugged her shoulders. "Mario also told me she was a bit of a flirt. That much I can agree with."

* * *

><p>"Focus, Bree," Ms. Mowz whispered to herself as she regained stance. Knowing that her challenge ran on a timer, she took on a slow-but-steady strategy, inching down the wall so as not to become entangled again.<p>

"Keep it up! You're almost there!" Goombella encouraged. Ms. Mowz looked below her and noticed that she was less than fifty feet until finishing. In an effort to maintain her reputation, she proceeded to let loose much of the rope, and quickly reached the bottom.

"Phew, finally!" She teased, allowing her feet to land on the dirt. She effortlessly untied the figure-eight knot and unclipped the carabiner from her harness. Bandy Andy offered her a high-five for her achievement as she rejoined the group.

Above them, Dimentio received a signal from a producer that he could begin. He glanced at the clock: **22:01**.

"Crud," he spat, running towards the ledge. Since the system was structured that only one person could rapel at a time, Dimentio still had to hoist the rope that Ms. Mowz had used so that he could be fully harnessed and begin his own rapel.

"Need a fin?" Sushie offered, watching as Dimentio pulled the rope up several hundred feet to the top of the tower.

"I'm quite fine, thank you," Dimentio huffed. His increase of inhalations did not reassure Sushie about when it would be her turn to do so.

A few seconds later, Dimentio had gathered all of the rope and was being tied in by a professional. "Could you hurry it up a bit? I've got 50000 coin waiting for me at the bottom if you catch my drift."

"All set!" The climbing instructor issued, permitting him to begin the rapel. After a satisfactory tug on the rope to ensure the knots were taut, Dimentio situated himself alongside the edge.

"See you at the bottom?" Sushie hesitated. Dimentio didn't respond, disappearing from her sight.

* * *

><p>"Wait a sec, you're being <em>timed<em>?" Nastasia asked in vivid disbelief.

"The absurdity! What if a technical error occurred, and you three were displaced during your mission? That scintilla of a possibility could be jeopardizing to your success!" Pennington fumed.

Ms. Mowz sighed. "It's a thirty minute time gap. I'm pretty sure that number was coordinated to allow plenty of maneuvering space for such error you might speak of."

"Again, it would seem that the fear factor is what controls it the most," Parakarry said, playfully nudging Vinny in the shoulder.

"Whatever. Dis one looks much easier than our task. You have da extra comfort of harnesses, helmets, and safety supervision. I had da wind and a sweaty instructor half my size."

Above them, the second competitor appeared, feet planted against the tower wall. A couple of players called out to him, but Dimentio remained unfazed, refusing to acknowledge their existence. His focus was directed towards reaching the bottom as his fingers rested along the downward rope.

**Dimentio: **_Master of Dimensions, Pleaser of Crowds...I am Dimentio, and there's nothing in this game that I can't or won't conquer._

Without resistance, Dimentio guided himself along the cobblestone. His steps appeared to be much gentler than those of Ms. Mowz, guiding them steadily as if in musical rhythm. His face, however, displayed no expression of nervousness, let alone interest.

"Is he...dancing?" Pennington wondered, raising his magnifying glass towards the magician above him. "Preposterous!"

Mamar bit her lip. "He could be moving a bit faster, in my opinion.

Almost as if he had heard, Dimentio began to speed up, though not so much as to off-balance himself. This gradual crescendo brought him closer and closer to the players below.

"Confound it! He's doing an awful lot better than...um..." Parakarry's voice trailed, but Ms. Mowz did not look amused.

Upon reaching the halfway point, Dimentio flashed a grin to no one in particular. He began kicking away from the wall as he leveed the rope, building momentum as he went. Suddenly, a foot slipped, causing him to reposition himself away from the wall.

"And there goes his ego," Ms. Mowz smirked to Goombella, who attempted to hold in her laughter.

With his legs angled away from the wall, an exasperated Dimentio was forced to swing his body so as to both turn himself around and reach the edge of the tower as the ropes dangled several feet away. However, once he managed to realign himself, the rest of the descent went as smoothly as it had earlier.

"Touchdown!" Bandy Andy joked, making a goalpost with his hands. The magician glared at him.

"Hush. No need for you to be the cashew in the peanut gallery. Now leave me be; that babysitter bass still has to go, and it won't happen unless I get this rope off of me."

"Ouch, the heck did I do?" the fighter replied, now raising his hands in surrender as he left Dimentio to untie himself. The knot, however, had become entangled after his earlier mishap, giving Dimentio an added difficulty.

"Goodness, must a woman do everything?" Mamar remarked, noticing Dimentio's apparent struggle to remove the rope. She proceeded to help him solve the nylon maze before Pennington suddenly intervened, separating the two.

"Wait! You're not partaking in the rapel, so it can only be deduced that he must solve this dilemma himself!"

Dimentio rolled his eyes. "Relax, grandpa, I've got this under control, kapeesh?" A few seconds later, Dimentio's harness was free of the cord. Sushie's part had begun.

* * *

><p>Back on the summit, a producer informed Sushie that she could begin raising the rope. <strong>14:29, 14:28<strong>-

"Oh...tarter sauce!" Sushie muttered, no longer hypnotized by their countdown clock. She was left the striking realization that she alone would have to pull up her rope.

**Sushie: **_It's not difficult to speculate that I'm the most...mature out of my opponents. But I'm not about to let my age serve as a dollop to their confidence!_

"I don't suppose this is the part of the romance where the dashing young prince swoops in to offer the poor maiden assistance, is it?" Sushie asked her climbing professional. His following silence provided her with an unfortunate negative as she continued to raise her vital cords with strenuous effort.

"And I was told by the fairytale that Rapunzel let _down _her long hair," Sushie huffed to herself, relieved as the final stretch of rope piled at her feet. The climber immediately stepped in, harnessing her to the rapelling system in diligent time. After peering over the ledge and whispering a quick prayer to herself, the Cheep Cheep proceeded to lower herself along the Sun Tower with a little under twelve minutes remaining.

* * *

><p>Koover let out a sigh of relief as he witnessed Dimentio be released from the rope. "Two out of three, baby! And it looks like they're making pretty solid time, too!" Peach, meanwhile, continued to pace nervously alongside the log where she and Koover were instructed to stay in isolation from the rest of the group.<p>

"Yeah, but anything can happen when you have a Mole in the game. Just because two have been successful doesn't mean the third will, and even if Sushie fails, the blame still rests on our shoulders."

"Lighten up, will ya?" Koover teased lightheartedly. "One of the groups has already banked some dough under our jurisdiction, so you can't fairly pin everything on us."

**Koover:** _As much as I hate being ostracized from the rest of the group since being with them would offer ten different perspectives on what happened as opposed to just one, I wasn't about to let up an opportunity to absorb as much information as possible that could play to my advantage._

"Well, since it's just you and me here, you don't mind if I ask you what you're thoughts are, do you?" Koover asked.

"You mean like my suspects?" Peach asked. "Well, I feel like it's way too early to truly place all my eggs in one basket if you catch what I'm saying."

**Peach: **_In a game void of trust, you can never let too much information slip, because what you have is what advances you in the game. So no, I'm not about to clue Koover in on what I've gathered. Why? Because he could be the Mole._

"Exactly why I hate being restricted from the others," Koover added. "I'm not sure whether or not the Mole would sabotage so early on, so I'd rather see how the others act to help formulate my opinion."

Peach nodded. "Honestly, I have no clue what to expect. I feel too inadequate at this point, y'know?" Suddenly, both players noticed a fish figure at the top of the tower, and their focuses were redrawn to the game currently being played.

* * *

><p>The sun was now directly above the players, blasting its rays without any protection. Nevertheless, the atmosphere in Flower Fields remained pleasant, though the atmosphere amongst the players remained tense.<p>

"My goodness, she's doing it," Mamar stuttered, amazed as Sushie attempted the repel.

"She'll blow this out of the water, no sweat! Hopefully..." Parakarry pleaded, watching the nanny begin her descent.

"Dearie, you best be realistic," Ms. Mowz said. "I don't believe this system is as simple-minded as you all may believe. Considering the level of difficulty I had with it, there's no telling how Sushie will compare."

Dimentio scoffed. "Ha! You may have found yourself caught in the cobwebs, but I performed quite splendidly." Goombella rolled her eyes.

"She still has ta make it down in time for us to earn money, though," Vinny reminded.

Overhead, Sushie gasped to herself at the astonishing height. "This does not look pretty," she muttered, clasping both hands on the rope to position herself against the wall. Lacking lower limbs, she was forced to press her body against the wall to balance herself as she lowered the rope.

"OOF!" A missed slip of the fin sent Sushie tumbling into the tower without warning. Regaining herself, she attempted to jiggle the rope to readjust her body. "Focus, Sushie," she hummed, resuming her rapel. A few feet lower, however, she slipped once again and contacted the wall yet again.

Nastasia squinted intensely before wiping a smudge on her glasses. "Yeah, not looking like the splendid performance you were talking about."

**Sushie: **_The rapel was awfully frustrating because no matter what I did, I continued to struggle with it. I would much rather paraglide in comfort than spend the rest of my days stuck against a crumbling tower._

Sushie groaned as she landed against the wall for a third time. "Okay, something is up with this rope, because this is just ridiculous." She pulled on the lower edge of the nylon, only to discover that it wouldn't budge.

"What in the..." She tried again to lower herself, but to no avail.

"I'm stuck!" Sushie cried out to the players below, who looked up at her with alarm.

"You're kidding me! Are you okay?" Pennington asked on behalf of the group.

"Do I look okay to you?" Sushie shouted. She continued to pull down on the rope, but remained stationary midair. The clock didn't stop for her, however.

**Pennington:** _I daresay, something was fishy at the Sun Tower, and it wasn't just Sushie. Could the Mole be at work already?_

"Try to untangle it! It might be caught on something!" Mamar suggested in vain. Sushie took a moment to gather herself before twisting the figure-eight in a counterclockwise direction. To her amazement, the rope loosened.

"Oh thank heavens," Sushie sighed as she continued repelling. The journey was met with more stumbles, but her main priority was to get out of the air as quickly as possible.

"Let's go Sushie!" Bandy Andy cheered as the Cheep Cheep snailed down the wall. Now ten feet from the ground, Sushie let out a victory cry and allowed herself to fall to the ground, thus effectively stopping the clock.

* * *

><p>"My God, is she okay?" Koover asked, concernedly.<p>

"Well, she made it. That's all I can say," Peach said. "But did she make it in time?"

* * *

><p>"So, what's the verdict, your honor?" Dimentio asked as he, Ms. Mowz and an exasperated Sushie stood before the approaching host.<p>

Blue nodded. "As soon as you finished your rapel, Sushie, the clock for your mission was halted."

"Can we just cut to the cheese, perhaps?" Ms. Mowz inquired. The other players crossed their fingers in anticipation.

"When Sushie reached the ground, the time on the clock...had expired one minute and seven seconds prior. I'm sorry, but your combined efforts did not allot to whatever money amount was placed on this task." Sushie's face dropped at the news.

"At least you attempted, guys," Parakarry offered weakly. Dimentio did not seem amused.

"But cheer up! There's still three of you left, two more tests to partake in, and one ultimate prize to be won," Blue reminded, causing the others to perk up briefly. "Let's follow the Northeasterly, shall we?"

* * *

><p>The players hiked along a flowerbed trail after a Toad that few of them were particularly happy with at that moment. Nevertheless, some sought comfort through the lush environment around. This easement was soon crushed by the host.<p>

"Here lies your third task," Blue stated. In front of him laid a large red, green and purple block structure of disproportionate heights. Surrounding it was a garden of prickly rose vines.

"That does NOT look appetizing," Goombella remarked.

"Ah, but Koover and Peach designated you to enjoy this entrée, along with...Pennington." Pennington raised an eyebrow.

"This is the Block Puzzle. Yet another architectural feat in a land lacking in civilization. In order to succeed, the two of you must figure out how to make it from Point A on this side to Point B on that platform yonder. Should both of you be standing at the finish before twenty minutes elapse, you win. Don't worry, for the solution is rock solid. Good luck, for your time starts...now." A monitor nestled against a rock behind him lit up with the numbers: **19:59, 19:58...**

"Yikes! Hut-two!" Pennington said as he and Goombella made a beeline towards the intimidating structure. The other eight were led away to watch from afar.

* * *

><p>"Look around," Goombella commented as she and Pennington reached the puzzle. "I'm willing to bet that there's something around here with some form of instructions."<p>

Pennington did a quick 360. "Nah, I think we need to begin and learn as we go. We only have twenty minutes to complete this."

"But Blue gave us, like, nothing about this thing. They wouldn't just leave us to fend for ourselves, would they?" She surveyed the structure, her archaeological instincts kicking in.

"The biggest things I notice are the arrows and the colors. Red, purple, green, and they're scattered all the way across. That's gotta mean something, right?"

Pennington rubbed his chin. "But what about the arrows? Why are some pointing up while others point down?"

"Maybe we're supposed to move in the direction they face? Or, maybe the blocks are supposed to move that way?" Goombella asked, clueless as ever.

"Here, you go stand on that ledge over there and see if you can get a clearer view of the entire puzzle. I'll try to see if these blocks can move," Pennington instructed. Goombella nodded, running off in hopes of a better perspective. Pennington hesitantly stepped down onto the first panel, which happened to be red with an up arrow. In front of him at the same height was a green block, also with an up arrow. Surrounding the Bumpty on both sides was the vine field.

"Rudimentary!"

* * *

><p>Still in their own form of solitary confinement, Blue met up with Koover and Peach, who were disappointed to discover that the rapelling group was unsuccessful.<p>

"How confident do you feel trusting Goombella and Pennington to complete the block puzzle?" Blue questioned.

Peach frowned. "I mean, I know that both of them are intelligent and what not, but looking at it from this angle, the task looks much harder than I had expected."

"It's out of our hands now," Koover said openly. "We bet that they would be successful at a life-sized Rubik's disaster, so at this point, we can only hope that they will be."

"And if one of them is the Mole?" Blue asked.

Koover turned to face the host. "Then that would certainly complicates things, wouldn't it?"

* * *

><p>"Pennington! I'm counting seven panels all together, three of which are green, with two for both red and purple," Goombella observed, climbing onto a small knoll to get a better look.<p>

"So, green must be sufficient somehow," Pennington remarked. He proceeded to move towards the green panel before him. "I can't get any farther than this because panel in front of me goes up about ten feet! Blast!"

"Chillax, okay? I'm telling you, there's probably something somewhere that tells us how we're supposed to work this thing."

"Never mind that, come over here and see if you can help me push this block!"

**Goombella:** _I was positive that without a manual or guideline of some sort, it would be impossible to figure out the puzzle. Mister Wannabe Sherlock, however, felt differently._

"It's not going to work," Goombella said as she joined him on the green panel. "On three, okay? One...two, three!" Both players pushed against the block before them, but nothing happened.

"I'm telling you. The one behind it is half it's height, but high enough to be in the way," Goombella smirked. Pennington frowned.

"What color is the one behind it?" he questioned.

"Green...I think. And it had an up arrow, I'm sure. Come to think of it, all of the green blocks had up arrows."

A light bulb went off in Pennington's head. "The colored block have to be interconnected somehow. Now, if we could just manipulate some method to move from one green block to another, than I think we'll be golden!"

"Great detective work. Now, how exactly are we supposed to do that if we're trapped behind a red block that's impossible to climb over?" Goombella questioned, knowing Pennington wouldn't have the answer. "Never mind, I'm going to look around. We don't have much time, so if the producers hid a clue, it can't be TOO elaborate."

"Suit yourself, madam," Pennington mumbled, continuing to survey the scene around him. The moshpit of vines was currently even with the height of the two front blocks they could access. "The end platform is higher up than the starting one, which means we'll have to elevate ourselves somehow. We can't go over the block in front of us, and we can't go around because of these prickling pestilences...I wonder, if there's some way we can traverse over the vines to get to blocks in the back?"

Goombella paused to look at the puzzle once more. "Well...the sixth block is even-leveled with where you're standing. And it's green. With an up arrow."

Pennington's face lit up. "Then we clearly must construct a bridge between blocks of the same color! JUST as I suspected!" Goombella did a double-take before sighing to herself and continuing her search for a potential clue.

* * *

><p>On the sidelines, eight competitors spectated the scene, feeling fortunate to not partake in this portion of the mission. Seven of them had already performed; one, however, was anxiously awaiting what obstacle she would have to conquer.<p>

"I have ta say, I'm glad I was a paraglider now. I'd be so out of place with dis," Vinny commented, perplexed by the massive puzzle. He noticed Nastasia out of the corner of his eye, gnashing her fingernails like a woodchuck.

"Come ta think of it, there's still one more task left after dis, and you'll be da only one. Wonderin' what it will be?"

Nastasia didn't bother turning to face him. "Well, no use speculating about it now, is there? So how about you mind your own P's and Q's, K?" Vinny didn't continue the conversation.

To their right, Mamar was having her own discussion with Sushie, who took the leisure of laying down on the pink tulip patch. "So, if you don't mind me asking, what exactly happened during your rapel? You were looking so great before you seemed to stop, so I was pretty concerned," she asked politely.

Sushie chuckled. "There's no need to exaggerate the truth for my sake, sweetheart. I was completely out of my element back there and everybody could tell. But I will say one thing: the moment you're referring to, my rope seemed to tighten suddenly. I couldn't pull myself up, let alone fall to gravity."

"Seriously? Was it just tangled, or did it get knotted up?"

Sushie shook her head. "Just as free as it had been. So no, even with my wretched abilities taken into context, I don't find it mere coincidence that the two rapellers before me had minimal difficulties whereas my rope wouldn't even budge until some divine intervention rescued me." Mamar nodded to herself before standing back up again.

* * *

><p>Back at the puzzle, Pennington was rubbing his wing after testing the spikiness of the surrounding vines. Needless to say, he would be avoiding direct contact from then on.<p>

Goombella, meanwhile, was frantically weed-whacking through a pile of cattails. "Ug, this isn't working...say, you don't recall Blue dropping any subtle maxims that might help us, do you?"

Pennington shook his head. "Nothing that sounded suspicious. I recollect that him stating that we had twenty minutes to reach the opposite platform, but that our solution would be rock solid...egad!"

"The boulder!" Goombella shouted in realization. Abandoning some daffodils, she darted towards the rock which their countdown monitor was propped up against. To her horror, seven minutes had already ensued. Nevertheless, she leaned up against the boulder in an attempt to roll it when she spotted a paper peeking out from underneath.

"I found something! Come have a look!" she called out to her partner, who wasted no time reaching her.

"Clever! There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact," he philosophized. "But what is it implying?"

On the paper were two peculiar pictures. The first featured a pile of dirt with the letters "lb" labeled next to it. The second picture displayed what appeared to be a cloud hovering over a pile of grapes.

"...this makes, like, NO sense whatsoever," Goombella complained. "What is LB supposed to stand for? Low Battery? Lunch Break?"

Pennington frowned. "And why in the world would it be lowercase, hm? Let's see...dirt...earth...surface...ground...sedimen-"

"Ground pound!" Goombella interrupted. "That has to be it! The "lb" is the abbreviation for pound, and the pile of dirt refers to the ground! But what are we supposed to ground pound?" She looked at the puzzle before her in wonder. A few seconds later, another light bulb went off in her head. "Ohmigosh, I think if we ground pound the panels, it'll cause the platforms to rise! Go try it out!"

"But wouldn't that be too easy, though? I don't think the clue is as straightforward as you want to presume it to be," Pennington cautioned, resuming examination of the paper. "Dirt...Left Bank of dirt?"

Goombella groaned. "Fine, I'll be the guinea pig," she muttered, running to the first two panels. Walking as far out onto the green panel as she could, she held her breath, jumped into the air, and landed cris-cross atop the block.

"Aaaaah!" she screamed, feeling the floor beneath her vibrate violently. She jumped off onto the red panel before her as the green panel rose abruptly, doubling its previous height.

Pennington looked horrified. "Well, jiminy-crickets! Why on earth did you move? Now you can't reach the green panel!"

**Pennington:** _I never make exceptions. An exception disproves the rule of the game, that any of these players could be the Mole. So just because Goombella is young and full of spunk does not erase her off of my suspect list._

"Uh, yeah I can! Watch!" Goombella replied, performing another ground pound on the red panel, causing it to match the height of the green one. To her surprise, the third panel also rose the same amount.

Pennington raised his magnifying glass. "That confirms it, then! The colored panels are definitely interconnected! But all that did was create the same image we had at the beginning, except with extra height. And now I can't reach them," he observed. From the starting line, Goombella's ground pound had raised the block to a height that was too tall for Pennington to pull himself onto. "Here, ground pound it once again so I can join you!"

"But if you stay there, you can tell me where to traverse since you'll be able to see the whole puzzle!"

"But _both_ of us have to make it across in order to pocket the money! Besides, this way we can each ground pound a block. Without me, you won't be able to ground pound the other panel because you'll be lower than it."

"No I won't! If I keep ground pounding the green panel, then I'll be able to climb over the one in front of me! Just watch," she said, steadying herself over the green panel. Her ground pound had visibly gained technique. Her height, however, decreased.

Pennington let out a harrumph. "It would appear that the arrows actually possess importance. Because the panels only ascend and descend one level. If you've already gone up, a downward arrow appears, indicating that the next switch will take you down." Goombella frowned in realization as she performed another ground pound to rise back up.

"Wait a second! There's more to the paper!"

* * *

><p>"What is taking them so long?" Koover wondered, watching the performance with deep interest. "They haven't even made it past the first block yet!"<p>

Peach bit her lip. "There is a solution to this puzzle, right?" she asked, gesturing to their host. Blue remained motionless. "Of course _you_ wouldn't tell me..."

* * *

><p>After ground pounding the first red panel once again, Pennington was able to join Goombella to solve the second picture clue they had overlooked. Goombella grabbed the sheet away from Pennington. "Okay, the vines surrounding the puzzle are totally the ones being referenced to! But what is that supposed to be above it? A CLOUD?"<p>

Pennington stared up at the cumulus currents that four fellow players had used to paraglide off of earlier. "There's no logical way. And logic is the only way to go about this."

"But what if we used something similar to get around the vines?" Goombella wondered. "There's no way we can get over the third panel, so obviously the clue says there's some method to get around it."

Pennington surveyed the surrounding area. He noticed the ledge Goombella had stood on earlier had a small crevasse underneath. "Over here!" he called, rushing to investigate. To his astonishment, two Lakitu clouds were floating inside the crook.

"See? Easy solution," Goombella explained.

"Blasphemy! Are we truly supposed to use these? Are these even capable of sustaining our weight?"

"They're there for a reason, aren't they? But how do they work..." She grabbed one, compressing the soft material in her hand, before stepping inside of it. "No way! I'm totally floating right now!"

"Well, no need to dilly-dally! Time is of the essence here," Pennington reminded, snatching one for himself and running back to the puzzle.

"Okay, one of us should stand back and guide the other person along," Goombella reasoned.

"We don't have the time for that, woman! Now ground pound the first panel so we can get back up!" Appalled by the sudden mood swing, Goombella was quick to remove her cloud so she could raise the platform. Now, they were parallel to the green panel.

Goombella raised an eyebrow. "Well, what was the point of that if we can just use the clouds to get around?"

"Because your incessant ground-pounding has disordered the puzzle from its original state! I'd be hesitant to proceed in case we've already discombobulated it somehow. If each of us ground pounds a panel, then we can have a fresh start, no?" The goomba nodded understandingly as she moved back to the green panel. The two of them delivered a ground pound in near unison, causing both blocks to lower to a height even with the vines, just like in the beginning.

Pennington smiled. "Well, now that that's been taken care of, I daresay we ought to investigate the further four blocks, no?" He positioned himself atop the Lakitu cloud and, without wasting any time, hovered over the sharp vines.

Goombella gasped. "You can't feel anything?" The Bumpty shook is head, encouraging Goombella to follow his lead. The two of them glided along the vines as they surveyed the latter blocks.

"The fifth and last are purple, and the fourth and sixth are green...hey, I can reach the sixth one!" Goombella cheered, hovering over the green panel with Pennington quick to follow.

"Let's not jump to conclusions-" Before Pennington could finish his sentence, Goombella had been quick to ground pound it, causing the block to rise.

"Darn, the last one is still too tall...and the purple one behind us will go down if we hit it," she noted disappointedly.

"But it's the only one we have access to, so we might as well try," Pennington said, grabbing Goombella and ground-pounding the fifth block in the series. "Oomph...my back will thank me later..."

The purple panel was now parallel to the vines. The one closest to the end platform, however, was now parallel to the green panel in front of it. "Well, back to the vines," Goombella began, grabbing her cloud.

"Wait! We can solve it right now!" Pennington disagreed, preventing Goombella from continuing. "Look! The two end panels are even with each other, are they not? If we re-ker-smash this one again, I should be able to reach the sixth. And if you smash the fifth while I'm on the sixth, the end platform will be lowered to my height, and I'll be able to reach the finish!" Excitedly, he did another ground pound, sending the two back to their previous height.

"Stop!" Goombella shouted, attempting to balance herself at the sudden transformation. "Both of us have make it to the end in order to win, remember?"

Pennington was exasperated. "But we can! As soon as I'm up there, it'll be easier to guide you along, don't you see?"

"No, we're making it to the end. Together," she insisted. Before Pennington could react, Goombella had floated over the edge onto the vines.

"What in tarnation did you do that for?" Pennington shouted, flabbergasted at Goombella's sudden action. "Now you can't even get back up here!"

"Ug, will you just listen to me? Of course I can!" Goombella took the liberty to survey the overall puzzle in the safety of her cloud as she floated out across the thorn field. "Think, Goombella...the only other block we have access to is the first one...if we jump on that, we'll reach the second, which we can lower. Doing so will lower the sixth panel, which...Pennington! Follow me, I figured it out!"

"Rubbish! I had it solved, had you not taken that leap of fallacy," Pennington argued, shaking his head in dismay. "It'll be a miracle if we finish in time now!"

"Quite the miracle indeed," came a familiar sound. Goombella gulped, watching a blue-spotted figure emerge atop the finish platform. In his hand, he held a disheartening monitor: **00:00**.

* * *

><p>Koover's face dropped. "Darn! Looks like they failed as well."<p>

"I thought they would be ideal for something so intelligence-demanding, too," Peach remarked, staring at nothing in particular.

"At least it hasn't been a total loss. The paragliding group was successful, right? And besides, there's still one more task pending."

Peach didn't seem affected by Koover's attempts at optimism. "I'm just worried about rejoining the group at this point..."

* * *

><p>"What happened?" were the first words to come out of Bandy Andy's mouth as Blue led two crestfallen people back to the less-than-welcoming group.<p>

"That puzzle is a LOT more difficult than it looks, dude," Goombella defended. "It took us forever to figure out how to move the panels, and then there were these bizarre clouds-"

"Defend yourself all you want, buttercup. Still doesn't change the outcome," Dimentio exclaimed.

"Oh please," Ms. Mowz stammered. "You weren't so impressive either, darling."

Dimentio chortled. "Yes, because your performance totally won the crowd over."

Pennington cleared his throat. "All I can confess is that Goombella and I tried our hardest, and at the end of the day, that is all one can ask for."

**Parakarry:** _Already, we'd witnessed two groups fail their assigned task. Is this supposed to be a precursor of how the Mole aims to sabotage?_

"Regardless," Blue proceeded, "the two of you did not solve the puzzle before twenty minutes were up. The festivities are all but over, however! For one ultimate challenge still awaits one of you." Everybody turned to face Nastasia, who avoided making eye contact.

"Hm...eenie...meenie...miny...Nastasia, would you please follow me?" Arms crossed, Nastasia reluctantly followed Blue away from the others, who were led to a distant spot to watch the a-maze-ments in store.

* * *

><p>The overarching sign read "Rose Hedge Maze," but a flushed Nastasia was too ignorant to notice. "There's no possible way," she trailed, hoping to find asylum in the host. Instead, she found a helmet camera.<p>

"Ah, but there is!" Blue teased. "For the two 'Moles' of questionable trust placed their trust in you as the sole contender for this assignment. Your job is simple: complete the maze within the course of ten minutes, and the money is yours. Should you instead lose yourself in the labyrinth, then no money, whatever that amount might total, will be won. If there are no questions, then good luck! You may begin the maze...now." It took a second for Nastasia to compute what was going on after Blue clicked his stopwatch before heading for the entrance.

**Nastasia: **_Yeah, mazes have never been my strong suit. That, combined with a dash of time limits and a hint of claustrophobia, and this was a recipe for disaster._

"Left?" Nastasia asked herself, unsure where to wander herself. She continued heading in that direction until she reached and intersection, where she decided to head left again.

"Dead end," she sighed, turning back the way she came. When she reached the intersection, however, her mind panicked as she forgot which direction she had previously come from.

After a few seconds of confusion, Nastasia made a right, continuing passed the shrubbery until she alarmingly found herself at the entrance. "Duh," she grumbled, instead electing to follow down the other path in hopes that it would be more promising.

"You're kidding!" Upon rounding the corner, Nastasia found herself facing nothing but green hedge. Irksomely, she made a U-turn and guided herself past the entrance once again to the only intersection she had encountered. This time, continued forward.

**Nastasia:** _My biggest frustration was that I was completely engulfed by the hedges. In some places, it had overgrown so thickly that I had to duck just so I wouldn't be decapitated. And in others, it was impossible to distinguish whether you had reached a dead end because the produced optical illusion might conceal a turn at the end. _

The secretary grew vehemently frustrated as she reached what appeared to be yet another impasse. She brushed an overgrown flower vine out of her hair as she checked to ensure that there was truly nothing at the back side. To her astonishment, she noticed a shining red warp pipe out of her left eye.

"Ug, am I supposed to use this?" she complained, talking to no one in particular. Since it was the first one she had come across, she decided to see where it led to.

"Seriously?" On the other side of the pipe, Nastasia discovered that she was still within the labyrinth. "How in the world am I supposed to figure out where I am NOW?" She proceeded to follow the path in front of the path, discovering it led to an intersection. Heading left, she strolled down the path...to realize that she had found her way back to the entrance

"Bloody..." Nastasia began to mutter beneath her breath. "Yeah, thanks for nothing!" Forced to retrace her steps once again, she turned around, choosing to run for the first time.

"Left's a dead end...right's a pipe...forward had an intersection and another pipe?" She ran forward, hopelessly deciding to go wherever the paths would take her. She quickly rounded another corner, hoping it would lead to something unfamiliar. Fortunately for her, it was another intersection.

"Oh!" Nastasia cried out. With her focus on the route ahead of her, she had failed to notice an overgrown root. Her foot had, however, tripping the secretary in the process. Fuming, Nastasia brushed off her shoulders and felt around with her hand to help stand back up. To her alarm, something important to her specifically was not within reach.

"My glasses!"

* * *

><p><strong>And so, the Commencing Countdown mission draws near conclusion. Just how much will the group earn? Find out in January 2015!<strong>

**KIDDING. Hopefully. :O I'll try my hardest to update this as often as possible, but school has been crazy busy. And it's still summer, lol. Basically, AP course work in August has found a way to dissipate Fanfiction writer's block...and give it to the work that actually _needs_ to get done. Oh well, who needs college credit?**

**Don't forget to leave a review! :)**


	3. Enemy's Camp

**So...I suppose I did make it before the absurd deadline I set last chapter. Even so, waiting a year to update is just as inexcusable. *pushes the blame on life***

**HOWEVER, I have hopes (and high hopes I might warn) to finish the first episode before I start senior year in mid-August. Especially since once it starts, my free time becomes almost non-existent. But on the plus side, senior years always seem to fly by and before you know it, you've graduated and are forced into the real world on a nutritional ramen-and-popcorn diet as you shed manly tears that those years will never return...**

**But enough of my sob story! Here's the third part of episode 1!**

* * *

><p><strong>Episode 1 (Part 3)<strong>

Nastasia's hands swept the hedge to her right as she frantically searched for her ocular device. "Of all the things that could happen," she spat, desperate to find her glasses.

**Nastasia:** _Yeah, not to be the evidence to the stereotype, but without my prescription lenses, I truly am as blind as a bat. I am not a happy camper at this point._

Fingers uncovering nothing but dirt, the secretary was panicking. Time was of the essence.

"There you are," she grumbled, recovering her glasses which had nestled in the nearby brush...but something was off.

**Nastasia: **_By chance, I swept the hedge when picking up my glasses, and yeah, it was way thinner than the rest of the hedge I had been tumbling across._

Vision restored, Nastasia peered into the hedge. Through the vines, she thought she could make out what appeared to be another red pipe. "Probably just around the corner," she deducted, brushing her skirt off and assuming a walking pace.

The right path led her a significant distance from the intersection she had taken a tumble at. Expecting to turn right to reach the concealed pipe, she was surprised to receive only a left-turn option. Taking the only available path, she trudged onward.

"Dead end?" she spat, ultimately confused. "Oh, whatever!" She glared at her helmet camera, as if targeting the home viewers. At this point, she just wanted to get out.

Returning to the spill site, Nastasia prepared to head in the opposite direction before stopping in front of the peculiar shrubbery. Without hesitation, she swept her hand through the entanglement, which pushed back and made a desired pipe more visible. "K, enough taunting. How do I get to you?" she muttered to herself.

"...screw it." Deciding that all other options had been exercised, Nastasia pushed her way through the clearing, attempting to break the boundaries of the maze itself. To her surprise, this was easy to accomplish. Because this was the correct path.

"This had better be it," she sighed, running towards the pipe ahead of her. Quick transport sent her off, but to her dismay, she was still within the maze's confines. To her delight, the arch she saw in the background did not match the one at the entrance.

Twenty meters down, a left turn. Thirty meters, a right. After a third turn with no intersections or dead ends, Nastasia began to pick up the pace. Right turn. Left turn. Left turn. Suddenly, the exit appeared. Adrenaline pumping, the secretary's heels fell off as she ran to escape what felt like the minotaur.

***Click***

"Glad you could join me, Nastasia." Blue Toad emerged, smirking at an asthmatic contestant. Nastasia looked at the watch in his hand, emotionless.

* * *

><p>"Talk to us baby!" Bandy Andy exclaimed, rushing to greet the secretary. Daggers were returned as Nastasia, accompanied by the host, rejoined to party, wiping some dirt from her forehead. The players quit conversing to pay attention.<p>

"It has certainly been a brilliant day in Flower Fields," Blue began. "Quite breathtaking, actually. It would appear that your compatriot found the light at the end of the rose maze. Quite worthy of applause." The other players took the cue to clap, though Goombella's ovation was noticeably less.

"Half won, half lost, right?" Mamar deduced.

"Ah ah ah! Let's not forget: there was a time limit." Vinny's face sank.

"Yeah, just know I'm on a no-bad-news diet at the moment," Nastasia snapped.

Blue waved a finger audaciously. "Whatever money your 'Moles' placed on this assignment will only be earned if Nastasia exited the maze within a ten minute time frame. And I'm sorry to say, you crossed with 21 seconds remaining."

"Dang it!" Parakarry sighed, causing Dimentio to facepalm. "Wait, what?"

Ms. Mowz chuckled. "She won, dearie. It's called the art of sarcasm."

Blue addressed Nastasia. "Congratulations on your success. However, one question remains answering: just how successful was she? Because ultimately, success in this challenge is measured by the coin value Koover and Peach tacked. Shall we join them?"

"I almost forgot they even existed," Sushie trailed, migrating with the others towards the two people who would announce their ultimate fate. The players were reunited seconds later.

"Wassup guys?" Koover greeted enthusiastically. "The name's Koover; pleased to meet ya! And of course, you know her as the fabulous Princess Peach." Others laughed, but Nastasia merely rolled her eyes.

"Okay, it hasn't been _that _long," Goombella grinned.

The host cleared his throat. "As you all know, these two were selected by you as being suspicious enough to earn such an important role for your first mission. As such, they were isolated from the group, and not granted any means of communication. Their assignment was to determine your roles for four activities based on their limited interactions, as well as the monetary value of each task. These prices ranged between 5000, 10000, 15000 and 20000 coins, thus making your possible winnings 50000 coins altogether. The greater the confidence in your success, the higher the price tag they assigned. However, you'll only earn money for the events you were victorious in. The ones you failed earn you nothing. Shall we proceed?"

Peach nodded. "Just understand that Koover and I made what we felt were our best judgments."

"That's...doesn't sound encouraging," Pennington trailed.

"The mission commenced with Mamar, Bandy Andy, Parakarry and Vinny partaking in a luxurious paraglide from the top of Cloudy Climb. Despite apparent fears, all four of you were successful. But just how successful were they? Care to enlighten us, Koover?"

Koover bit his lip. "For the paragliders...we wagered 5000 coins."

**Bandy Andy: **_Ouch. OUCH, man._

"Well...at least it's money," Mamar said optimistically.

"Only a tenth of wat was possible, though," Vinny mumbled.

"Any reasons for the low wager?" Blue questioned.

"It seemed like the hardest?" Peach replied, answering her own question. "I mean, it's not easy to judge what a person might be afraid solely based on their looks. And we had to choose four people as opposed to just one."

"Very well. There's still money to be earned however! In the second test, Ms. Mowz, Dimentio and Sushie descended the Sun Tower via rappel. Unfortunately, they got a bit tangled up in the process, and did not finish within the time limit. Did your 'Moles' bet it big or stake it small?"

Koover's frown did a 180. "Ten thousand coins."

Sushie sighed with relief. "Phew! At least it's something small!"

"But we lost. We could have earned that ten thousand coins had you abseiled in time," Dimentio scoffed.

"Give it up. It was a three-way street," Ms. Mowz reminded. Dimentio turned a shoulder to look at Blue.

"So far, you have earned 5000 coins and lost 10000. The two remaining amounts are 15000 and 20000. But did Peach and Koover associate that number with Goombella's and Pennington's troubles with puzzles, or with Nastasia's labyrinth achievement? Can I hear a drumroll?" The group crossed their fingers in hopes of more money.

"No use making it suspenseful," Koover stated. "Unfortunately, the puzzle was worth 20, and the maze 15."

"Darn," Goombella said with disappointment. "But it is what it is, I suppose."

"What it _is_ is a letdown," Nastasia declared, crossing her arms. "Hmph."

"Again, we did our best," Peach said, shrugging her shoulders in dismay. "And hey, it's still money!"

Blue addressed the group. "So, because Nastasia completed her task, you won 15000 coins plus the paragliders' 5000, thus making your earnings 20000 coins overall. After your first mission, the group pot stands at a wholesome 20000. Congrats!" Reminded of the game itself, the players applauded their triumphs. One of them, of course, was clapping for a personal success - triumphing in terms of sabotage.

**Commencing Countdown Results**

20000c/50000c

**Team Pot**

20000c/50000c

"W-wow," Parakarry stuttered, stepping back from the others for a moment. Pennington raised an eyebrow.

"Something you'd like to share with the crowd?" the detective questioned.

Parakarry shook his head. "It just feels so surreal, y'know? Already, one of us has earned twenty thousand coins in the course of a few hours. That alone is a lot of money!"

"The dude's right," Bandy Andy assured. "The twelve of us...we're playing in the major leagues now!" The others couldn't help but agree with him.

"So, what happens now?" Koover asked. "Are we playing another mission? Running through a maze of Ninjakoopas? Skydiving without a parachute?"

Blue shook his head. "Something more exciting: interviews." He gestured the players towards several producers and cameramen at the end of a flowerbed path. Everyone had a lot to talk about as the sun began to set on Flower Fields.

* * *

><p><strong>Mamar:<strong> _Day One of The Mole, and things are off to an interesting start, as per expected. A lot has happened already, and a lot is yet to come. Already I have a lot of unanswered questions: did the Mole act in the first mission? Did the Mole cause us to lose money? And better yet: just who is the Mole?_

**Goombella: **_It's good to have suspects, and my eyes are already looking at Pennington. He wasted soooo much time 'trying' to figure out how the puzzle functioned, which basically involved stupid conjectures. Turns out, there WAS a guide, and it would be impossible to solve it without the Lakitu clouds. So yeah, I've got good reason to be a bit leery._

**Vinny: **_I don't think da Mole would act so boldly da first episode. Dis chump's undercover, no? So why would dey want unmask their identity on da first day? Dat doesn't make sense ta me._

**Bandy Andy: **_Was the Mole present in the first mission? Heck yeah! You can't just say that we lost 30000 coins on our own accord alone. That is a buttload of money, and there's no reason the Mole wouldn't want to take credit for it._

**Parakarry:** _Since my assignment delegated myself with three other people, I'm of course looking at those three people. Sure, we won, but we only won 5000 coins, which would give the Mole a reason not to sabotage. Not to say there wasn't sabotage. Was Vinny trying to discourage us from jumping? Was there a reason behind Mamar's insistence in going first? Did Bandy Andy purposely leave me alone to convince Vinny to paraglide? So many questions!_

**Sushie:** _What a day indeed! I certainly took a bruising, but even though I didn't finish in time, it was most definitely worth accomplishing! Maybe this game will show just how much of a kick in the flipper I still have?_

**Pennington:** _Our event cost 20000 coins, so obviously it was expected of Goombella and myself to be successful. As should have been our destiny! I was certain that her collegiate cleverness, along with my improbably large brain, would have been able to solve that puzzle within the time allotted, but she kept making thoughtless actions throughout! I daresay, I'll be raising my magnifying glass at her for now._

**Dimentio: **_Ridiculous! There's no reason why we should have failed the rappel. None at all! Sushie's entanglement with the ropes cost us time, enough time that factored in would have allowed us the win. Don't undermine her possibilities of being the traitor simply because she's a grandcheep. There's more story to be told than the title page._

**Ms. Mowz: **_Obviously, the moment when Sushie got stuck is undoubtedly the moment in question. While all eyes are on her, I have to ask myself: would this Mole person want to attract so much attention? That leaves only two others who had touched the rope prior: myself, who is not the Mole, and Dimentio, who just so conveniently had difficulties in unharnessing himself..._

**Nastasia: **_The maze? No comment. All I have to say is that, even though I won money, I was still a ridiculous choice. So while everyone's hammering the players who lost their tests, they're overlooking the two people who gave them those roles: Peach and Koover._

**Peach: **_I'm a little disappointed with the results of the first mission, but I don't believe Koover or myself could have done anything more than we did. Is it possible that he's the Mole, though?_

**Koover: **_20000 gained, but 30000 out the window...I don't blame Peach at all, because it was nearly impossible to know just how successful our decisions would be. If that's the case, then the Mole is one of the remaining players that I've spent all of fifteen minutes with at this point! Boy, this game's a thriller. Either I pinpoint the Mole, or face the music and rot like a corpse. Game on indeed..._

* * *

><p>A summertime sunset greeted the players as they were led to their first dinner together. Two tables had been positioned next to each other beneath the crystal tree in Posie's Garden. The crystalized shards reflected the warm colors of the sunset, and the glistening shade boasted a serene atmosphere for the meal.<p>

"Oh, um, thank you," Peach said to Parakarry, who had politely pulled out her chair for her. The Paratroopa smiled and took the seat to her right.

Pennington adjusted his napkin. "Well, even if this isn't a five-star restaurant, I must confess our location is nothing short of spectacular!" Across the table, Bandy Andy was using one of the crystals above him to examine his teeth.

"...er, m'bad," Bandy Andy pardoned, leaning back in his seat sheepishly. Dimentio just shook his head in ridicule.

"So where's Blue?" Ms. Mowz asked, observing the Toad's absence. "I figured the handsome devil would join us, no?"

"Surprise!" Mamar gasped, knocking her fork in Vinny's lap. The host laughed his way towards the players, appearing from behind the crystal tree and taking a seat at the head of the table.

"Um...I believe dis is yours..." Vinny said, handing the utensil to a blushing Star Spirit.

"Honestly, if you want us to like you, you're going to have to be more courteous about your entrances," Dimentio said in amusement.

"Ah, but that takes all the fun out of it!" Blue pouted, sparking a few laughs. "But enough about me. I hope your belly-gorging banquet is to your satisfaction. Today has been one of excitement and exhaustion for each of you, but your past few hours together are only a sneak peek of the game ahead."

"It's certainly been surreal," Sushie began. "Especially for me personally. Considering my age and isolated residence, prior adventures with babysitting Yoshis or smashing open coconuts hardly even compare to an experience like this."

"Ain't that the truth," Koover agreed. "Coming from such a small village is definitely peaceful, but there's so much more to the world than just my backyard!"

**Vinny: **_Being a part of ta syndicate, there's a lot of info ta be kept on ta down-low. I was surprised dat so many of my fellow players at dinner were so quick to explain their whole life story. I mean, in a game like dis, the less is known about you, ta better, no?_

Blue set down a glass of wine. "I guarantee that the days ahead will offer the same, if not greater levels of excitement and exhaustion, but I cannot guarantee that all of will get that opportunity. But let's not overwhelm the horizon with rainclouds. We have some important business to attend to first." Reaching beneath his seat, the host withdrew a stack of green notebooks. A familiar thumbprint skirted the cover of each.

Bandy Andy grabbed one from the top of the stack. In the upper-right hand corner was a number: **1**.

"Are these-"

"Journals? Yes," Blue finished, promptly offering the remaining eleven to the fighter. "Take the one off the top and pass them down, if you'd please. These journals are yours to keep throughout the duration of the game. You may do with them as you see fit: collect your thoughts, remember your suspicions, calculate suspects, or simply let off some steam. It'd be in your best interest to keep these personal, as they could prove to be a useful tool down the road." Nodding, the fighter handed the remaining journals left to Koover, who took number **2** and passed them along.

"Things just got intense again," Parakarry observed. Ms. Mowz, who had taken journal **3**, handed him number **4**, to which he passed the stack to Peach, who took number **5**.

"Of course it's intense," Goombella said, accepting number **6** from Peach. "What's not to be intense with a Mole on the loose?" She extended the journals to Nastasia, who, after a moment of awkward tension, reached across the table and took journal **7**.

After taking number **8**, Vinny handed the journals to Mamar, who took **9**. Finishing the stack, Ms. Mowz received **10**, Pennington **11**, and Dimentio with **12**.

Mamar compared the number on her journal with her own, suspicious. "So, what's the significance of having 9 as opposed to 8, Blue? If it didn't truly matter, you wouldn't have had us specifically take the next numerically, no?"

"Perhaps they'll signify what place we get in the game!" Bandy Andy said with a grin, showing off his primary journal pridefully. Pennington frowned, having received a much lower number.

"Or perhaps it's just a ranking for who is more full of themselves," Nastasia smirked. "Or perhaps 7 makes me the luckiest."

"Or, perhaps, they'll play a part of our next mission?" Peach turned to the host for an answer, but Blue merely chuckled.

"I'll confess, it's rather amusing listening to your juvenile deductions over the simplest of matters. After all, it's only the beginning." At that moment, he stood up. "However, if you want your standing in this game to hold higher value than your journal, then heed my advice. The moment you let paranoia control you, yes, that's the moment the Mole has succeeded." With that aphorism completed, Blue left the players to finish digesting their meals, as well as their thoughts.

* * *

><p>Evening soon turned to nightfall. The players were led back to the Wise Wisterwood that had welcomed them into Flower Fields. Despite a day of countless questions, one inquiry reigned supreme at the moment:<p>

"So, where are we sleeping?" Vinny asked, glancing at the hour on his watch.

"Why, under the stars, of course!" Blue unexpectedly tossed a tent bag in his direction, which Vinny caught, puzzled.

"Camping? After a day as grueling as this one, I had hoped for a nice, comfy mattress," Peach sighed, disappointed but determined to make the best of it.

"In those bags, you'll find all the essentials necessary for a night of camping," Blue explained. "Furthermore, your personal duffel bags are piled behind me, along with sleeping bags."

"Might as well get started before it gets dark," Sushie said, reaching for her own bag before the host abruptly intervened.

"My apologies, but I'd almost forgotten to inform you of your tentmates!" A few groans were exchanged among the players as they listened. "Sushie, you and Peach will be sharing a tent for the evening." Both Peach and Sushie appeared satisfied as the host handed them a bag.

"I guess this will be a new experience for the both of us," Peach said. The two ladies laughed as they departed the group for the evening.

"Tent 2," Blue continued, "Will belong to both Pennington and Vinny."

Pennington chuckled. "I'm not sure who's idea it was to house the two largest fellows in the same tent, but this defense just wants to rest, your Honor." Vinny didn't appear to share the same amusement.

Blue tossed a third tent in Mamar's direction. "You will be sharing with Nastasia." Neither of the two girls said anything.

"And this one will be for Dimentio and...Parakarry." Parakarry reached out to catch the incoming bag, but failed.

"Smooth," Dimentio whistled, picking it up himself and heading out. The remaining four faced the host.

"I guess this means we'll get to spend another adventure together," Goombella said to Ms. Mowz.

"As you may have guessed, that leaves the fifth tent for the two lasses, and the final tent to the sirs," Blue finished, giving each pair their tent bag. "With that said, I'd get started. I'd want to get settled quickly if I were in your shoes. But fortunately for me, I'm not in you shoes. Sleep tight!" The toad suddenly lit a flashlight and headed for a production vehicle, clearly with other sleeping arrangements in mind.

Ms. Mowz grinned. "My my, he truly is a little devil. Well, that's for a different time. Sweet dreams, gentlemen!"

"See ya in the morning," Koover said. He handed Bandy Andy his bag. "See anywhere that looks good to you?"

"Anywhere that gives me a break from this Mole business," the fighter chuckled, grabbing his bag and walking towards the location the other players had generally migrated to. Their first day of the Mole was coming to an eventful close.

* * *

><p><strong>Tent 1<strong>

"So...any chance this thing came with a manual?" Peach asked, spilling the contents of their bag on the ground. Tent, poles, pegs and rain fly. But no manual.

"I'll be honest, despite living in a tropical locale, I feel really inept at the moment," Sushie said, grabbing one of the poles in her fin with curiosity. "Maybe we can get some of the boys to help us damsels in distress."

"Please, that's one label I'm already trying to get rid of," the princess said, grabbing the other pole in determination. As she stared at the furled tent, another thought popped in her head.

"Would you be opposed to filling me in on some of the details of what happened in the mission today? I mean, from your perspective. I could only watch what was happening from a difference, which offered pretty limited observation." The Cheep Cheep paused to look up at the interrogative princess.

**Sushie:** _I feel like there are a few players that the group would underestimate, myself being one of them. What an opportune repertoire for the Mole to assume, no?_

"I suppose it couldn't hurt," she began, setting aside the entanglement of poles. "Actually, I'd like to ask you a question first. What made you decide that I was a suitable candidate for the rappel this morning? Not to undermine myself, but I think my performance shows that I was not the optimal choice."

Peach grinned hesitantly, recalling the earlier scene in her head. "Well, not to undermine _myself_, but people don't realize just how difficult our portion of the challenge was. Our logic was that the challenges with fewer people seemed easier to complete than the challenges with more. Plus, we only had to trust in the abilities of one or two people as opposed to three or four, you know? That's why we only placed 10000 towards your task."

"Well, I can respect that reasoning," Sushie stated. "Notice anything unusual from your partner's behavior?" At this point, the two had given up on their tent construction for sake of discussion.

"You mean Koover? I don't think he did anything that really caught my eye. We were in mutual agreement about all of our decisions. Perhaps he was agreeing with me because he knew my choices were faulty...goodness, I still apologize for making you go through that today."

Sushie chuckled. "Don't fret it any. Looking back at it now, I suppose rappelling was a fun experience, even if I had so much difficulty with it."

Peach nodded, reaching subtly for your journal. "Not to be invasive, but do you know why you may have struggled as much as you did?" Sushie closed her eyes in concentration.

"Hm...aside from my floundering, no pun intended, at one point about halfway down the tower the cords refused to budge. I tried to shake it loose, but the rope was tightly tangled, like someone before me had tampered with it."

"Wait, so you're suggesting that somebody before you sabotaged it?"

"I'm just offering food for thought," Sushie implicated, observing the princess scribble down this information in her journal. "And although I was atop the tower for the duration prior, I did notice a cluster gather around Dimentio as he was unharnessing himself. Any one of them could have done something."

After adding these latest details, Peach closed her journal. "Well, thank you for sharing. Every bit helps, especially for the first quiz. And speaking of help, perhaps we should go seek some." The females looked at their pitiful attempt to pitch a tent and laughed as they left to seek the services of their fellow players.

* * *

><p><strong>Tent 2<strong>

"Date of birth?" Vinny watched his interrogator turn to a fresh page in his journal, whose contents were rapidly being filled by the detective's slapdash handwriting. The Pianta only shrugged in response, zoning the Bumpty out in favor of pitching their tent. "Oh come on, it's the least you can do to help a gent out!"

"Uh, ditto?" Vinny snapped back. In his defense, Pennington's focus over the previous minutes had been more directed towards note-taking than towards their sleeping arrangements.

The detective sighed, reluctantly pushing his journal aside. "My apologies. I guess it's just in my nature to want to know as much as possible. Although you might consider following my example in a game as precarious as this one."

Vinny chuckled lightly. "I've got my own strategy, but tanks for da offer, though." With poles in place, he proceeded to hoist the tent, knocking off Pennington's journal in the process. "Dude, why have you written so much down already? It's only da first day and you've already used up like a third of da pages in here. Don't you want to conserve them for later in da game?"

Pennington glared at the bodyguard, quickly snatching back his journal. "My notes are not privy to your investigations, I'm afraid. Besides, it's essential to gather information about everything in this game. Even the smallest details could be crucial in discovering the Mole."

"And what happens when you run out of pages?"

Pennington beamed. "Then I simply put what I need to know to memory! I am renowned by my colleagues as 'The Penguin with the Incredibly Large Brain', you know."

"More like Incredibly Large Ego," Vinny muttered under his breath. Pennington looked curious but didn't bother prying into it.

"Well, even if my pages are limited, I would recommend taking a page out of my own book," the detective said smugly. "Perception is essential in a game like this. Otherwise, you might find yourself encountering an early departure."

**Pennington: **_Although looking at potential acts of sabotage by the Mole is important, I find that there might be greater value in focusing on their behavior rather than solely their actions. Even the greatest of actors can only put up their façade for so long before they're bound to slip up. And when they do, I plan on noticing it._

Vinny continued to hammer away at a tent stake, not bothering to face Pennington. "Ya know, you talk awfully big for one so small. Take it from my book: I guarantee you won't make it far with dat arrogance."

"Trust me, I've read books like yours. The binding's tough and the cover robust, but they only serve to conceal the pages inside. Pages that are much more fragile and susceptible to tear, no?" Without warning, Vinny dropped the rock he had been using on the stake. "Sounds to me like the story in the life of a Mole."

Vinny stood up, brushing off his jacket sleeve. "Dat's for you to figure out in the later chapters-should you make it past da prologue, dat is."

* * *

><p><strong>Tent 3<strong>

"And with that...I think we're done!" Mamar cheered as she snapped the rain fly into place. Secure about her shelter for the night, she sighed triumphantly. "So, have you ever been camping before?"

Her tentmate Nastasia swiftly unzipped the tent flap and proceeded to roll out the red sleeping bag she had been given. "Yeah, today's been pretty tiresome. I'm sure you wouldn't reject my proposal to spend this time getting some much needed shut-eye, no?"

Mamar frowned, entering in afterwards with her own red sleeping bag. "Just trying to make conversation. It wouldn't hurt to talk about some of the events that occurred today either. It'd be to your benefit just as much as it would be to mine."

"Granted, but with no guarantee that you're trustworthy, I'd feel more at rest actually getting rest. Sweet dreams!" The secretary shut off the flashlight she had been holding and turned over in her sleeping bag. Mamar bit her lip, perplexed by these impulsive actions. She shrugged, turning her flashlight away from her tentmate so as not to disturb her as she opened her journal to write down information.

"Once." The Star Spirit turned, surprised to have received an answer. "I've been camping once. Didn't last long: discovered I had a peanut allergy after eating some trail mix. Haven't been since."

**Mamar:** _I'd consider myself a fairly reserved person, perhaps naïve, but in this game that's a dangerous trait to be carrying around. The ones who don't let on much about themselves...those are the ones to be wary of._

"Yikes. That sounds...unpleasant," Mamar responded as she increased the brightness settings of her flashlight to illuminate the tent. "I suppose tonight marks my first time. Well, camping in a tent at least."

"Enough chit chat. I'm not in the mood to stay up for much longer," Nastasia warned, ushering the conversation onward.

"Um, in that case, I guess I'll go first," Mamar proceeded, flipping to an earlier page in her journal. "Key moments of interest are the groups that directly cost us money today, being the rappelling team and the puzzle team. The puzzle group is more noticeable because they cost more money, so I guess I'm currently looking at either Pennington or Goombella."

"But don't forget," Nastasia added, "that those money amounts were decided by today's "Moles", so they too cost us."

"True, but if you were the Mole, and you suddenly discovered that the group had early suspicions of you, why would you try to entertain those suspicions? I figure the Mole would want to deflect the spotlight onto somebody else early on. I mean, actually being called out as 'Mole' is pretty substantial, wouldn't you agree?"

Nastasia pondered over this for a few seconds, then shrugged. "Yeah, whatever. Let's get to the chase. Hypothetically speaking, if you were to take the quiz right now, who would you be gunning for?"

"Well, thank heavens we aren't, because I don't know where to begin," Mamar laughed nervously. "Between the puzzle solvers, I'd say Goombella, because I can sense that she's genuinely smart. But then again, whenever Pennington talks, it feels really calculated. As for the paraglide, I think Vinny may have been trying to discourage us from going, though I'm not sure if that's just because he was legitimately afraid or not. What about you?" Instead of a response, however, Nastasia turned away from her and pulled the sleeping bag back over her head.

"Yeah, I believe I'm at liberty to keep my mouth shut," Nastasia smirked. "But thanks for sharing anyway."

"But you have to tell me," Mamar protested. "I mean, I shared my suspicions with you, didn't I?"

"Yes, and I'm truly grateful. But that was of your own choice, and alas, I've made my own." Mamar sat in awe as the secretary removed her glasses and prepared to doze off. After waiting unresponsively a few moments, the Star Spirit simply shook her head and shut off her flashlight for the night.

* * *

><p><strong>Tent 4<strong>

"This game," Dimentio pontificated, "is like one giant chessboard, controlled by a grand master."

Parakarry yawned as he unzipped his blue sleeping bag. "That's...an interesting analogy to make. And awfully poetic. Heck, who talks like that?"

"Ignoring that. You see, each of us-the players-represent different pieces." Dimentio tore out a page from his journal for his design. "The king is the pot, obviously, as that's what we as a group are trying to guard. Then we have our pawns-the weaker players who fail to realize that they are being deceived by a brilliant mastermind. As such, they meet their fate early and are removed from the board. I caution you because, from basic observations, I envision that you might be one of them."

"Hey! I...I resent that!" Parakarry stammered. The magician merely shrugged at the mailman's fuming.

**Parakarry:** _Where does he think he can come off from, calling me weak on the first day of all things? I mean, yeah, I'm feeling pretty clueless as to who the Mole is, but so is everybody else! I mean, hello? It's the first day for crying out loud: _nobody _should be feeling that confident._

"I'm not saying you are or you aren't. I'm just warning you that you're playing against knights in bishops."

Parakarry scoffed. "And I suppose you consider yourself to be the so-called grand master at solving this mystery then?" To his alarm, Dimentio burst out laughing.

"Of course not. I believe that position has already been taken by this game's saboteur. Unless you're accusing me of being the Mole, that is."

"I'm not accusin-er..."

"And that hesitation confirms it," Dimentio stated with a grin. "Heed my advice: if you want to last long in this game, you have to respect the game and its architect. This isn't child's play, after all."

Parakarry grumbled in annoyance at his tentmate's coolheadedness. "Okay then hotshot. If you're feeling so confident about your faring in this game, who do you propose the grand master is?"

The magician flipped open his journal with a peculiar fluidity. "Depends on which angle you approach it from. What piece would the Mole choose to play on the first turn? Would they risk major sabotage or play it safer? In the end, 30000 coins were blown today, and there's definitely a Mole to thank for it." He bit on his pen cap for a moment as he thought about what to say next.

"Ms. Mowz," Dimentio stated bluntly. "Or Mamar. But which one do you go with?"

Parakarry considered this as he scribbled in his journal, but after a few seconds broke into a frustrated chuckle. "See, but I can't even be sure if you're being straightforward with me or trying to screw me over."

Dimentio smiled as he sank back down into his sleeping bag. "And that thought right there is how you separate yourself from the pawns."

* * *

><p><strong>Tent 5<strong>

"So there's no denying that Pennington was shady during the puzzle today," Goombella began, addressing her tentmate as she recited her recorded notes.

**Ms. Mowz: **_We were up pretty late that first night discussing just about everything. I mean, Goombella was eager for a sounding board, and I'm not one to disappoint. And soon, I was extracting information from her without much effort on my part, mmm hmm hmm!_

Ms. Mowz nodded cautiously. "I think you're looking at him too closely, dearie. Obviously you saw more than the rest of us since you participated in the game with him, but it might be wiser to avoid looking at it with tunnel vision, no?"

"Wanna just run through some of our suspects and evaluate them?" Goombella suggested. "Here, I'll dig deeper on Pennington. Tried dissuading searching for a guide to the puzzle, handled the situation a bit chaotically, which essentially flustered us. That might just be the competitive spirit in me suspecting him, but it did seem odd."

"No no, it's certainly understandable," Ms. Mowz agreed as she wrote in her journal. "I look at the sabotage that went on in my own game and am left scratching my chin in consideration of foul play. You have Sushie, clearly out of her element with the rappel, but you also have Dimentio, who cost precious time when he got tangled up with the ropes after he had finished."

"And how close was Sushie to finishing? It was something close to a minute, wasn't it?" Goombella reaffirmed through Ms. Mowz, though a bit loudly.

"Shh!" Ms. Mowz silenced. She paused before peeking outside of her tent. The five tents around them appeared to have the lights out. "Maybe we ought to be a bit quieter. Wouldn't want to let any vital information leave this tent, now would we?" Goombella smiled, a bit ruefully.

"Basically," Ms. Mowz continued, "if the Mole were in my group, they simply had to waste only a minute of time in order for us to lose the 10000 coins. Not hard to do in my opinion."

The Goomba took a moment to pencil these facts into her journal. "All definite possibilities. But I also wonder if the Mole didn't sabotage. Or perhaps they failed to do so? It's not like they've necessarily had experience, you know."

"So are you suggesting that the Mole may have been a paraglider?" Ms. Mowz asked, to which Goombella nodded. "Well, it makes sense. The game only cost 5000 coins after all, so if they had failed, it wouldn't have been a significant blow to the pot. Why not use that opportunity to build trust by succeeding when it wasn't even much of a success?"

"Out of those four, I would say...Andy," Goombella reasoned, "because he seems really enthusiastic about the game. And I can't tell if he's fudging it or not."

"Perhaps it's Nastasia? I mean, all the spotlight was on her during her task, so if she were to have failed, it's not like she could have shifted the blame elsewhere."

Goombella groaned. "Ug, I hope that's not the case. But wait...we're also forgetting that the Mole may have been...a mole?" Neither of them had the answer.

Ms. Mowz chuckled to herself before shutting off the flashlight. "Numerous possibilities...yet only one solution."

* * *

><p><strong>Tent 6<strong>

"Wow! That's a pretty ambitious career path," Koover noted, recording the information in his journal. The fighter grinned pridefully as he readjusted himself in his black sleeping bag. "How long have you been at the Glitz Pit?"

"Well, it's not as lucrative as you're probably thinking," Bandy Andy explained. "I've been there for about two years now, but I'm still stuck in the Minor Leagues trying to fight my way up to the top. Legends like the Rawk Hawk or Prince Mush have been in the ring almost their whole lives, yet are still some of the greatest to compete."

"Hey, don't be downsizing yourself. That's still quite the achievement, especially for someone as young as you are." Koover let out a reminiscent sigh. "Dude, I'm so jealous. You got to go paragliding today. I just got to watch."

"Haha, I guess I ought to thank you for giving me that experience...Mole," Bandy Andy teased. The tentmates shared a laugh before stopping suddenly, as if a draft had blown into their tent reminding them of their true game.

"I might be shooting myself in the foot for saying this," Koover began, "but at the moment I feel as though I can trust you compared to some of the others. It might just be that I see a lot of myself in you when I was about ten years younger, but my gut isn't setting off any warning sirens."

Bandy Andy raised an eyebrow, cautious about Koover's antics. "So, are you implying that you're wanting to form a coalition with me?"

"Perhaps...coalition is too strong of a word. For now," Koover explained. "What I'm saying is I think it wouldn't hurt to have a second set of eyes and ears. Obviously, it'd be up to you to judge whether the information I give you is candid and vice versa, but hey, the more you know, right?"

"The more you know, the more you know you don't know. I know how that quote's finished," Bandy Andy corrected.

"Well darn, there goes my sales pitch," said Koover lightheartedly. Bandy Andy laughed as Koover mimicked shooting himself in the head.

**Koover: **_It's no doubt a risky strategy when the game's motto is trust no one, but the way I see it, only one person is the Mole. That leaves ten genuine players who aren't trying to pull the wool over my eyes. I'm a trusting guy as it is already, so by impulse I want to be able place my faith in someone. It's a social game, after all: recluses have a harder time in my opinion. And though there's nothing to prevent someone from attempting to deceive me, what's to say I can't rebound it back at them?_

Bandy Andy stared at his tentmate, pondering his decision. "Know what...I agree with everything you've said. So you have yourself a deal. Shake on it?" Koover nodded, offering his hand to Bandy Andy, who grasped it firmly.

"In that case, if we have a mission tomorrow, I think we should try to be in different groups, if possible," Koover suggested. "That way we can cover more ground in our observations of the others."

"But who do you suggest we try to focus on?" Bandy Andy asked. "Personally, I'm a bit leery of Vinny after paragliding with him today. What were your thoughts about working with Peach?"

Koover stroked his chin. "I'm a bit questionable about her. It's possible she made some questionable actions. Perhaps we should switch perspectives in the next game: I could focus on Vinny while you pay attention to Peach's actions."

The Bandit nodded in agreement. "Well," he said, laying back down in his sleeping bag, "looks like we have a lot to take into consideration tomorrow. Guess we'll have to wait and see. Good night, sleep tight...and don't let the Mole bite." Koover chuckled lightly as he shut off the flashlight and closed the tent flap for the night. The moon could be seen peering out from behind the Wise Wisterwood's leafy branches. The first coalition of the game had been made.

**Bandy Andy:** _Truthfully, I'm still all about playing this game for myself here. Do I feel like I can trust Koover? Heck no! To me, it's about winning, and if I have to make a deal with the devil to get one step closer, you can be certain that I will._

* * *

><p><strong>DAY 2 7:00 AM<strong>

**LOCATION: FLOWER FIELDS**

* * *

><p>Beams of sunlight rose from above the petunia patches on the eastern horizon. The rays slowly lit up the makeshift campsite the players had slept at the night before, signalling the start of the second day.<p>

Peach was the first to emerge from her tent. She yawned as she passed her fingers through her noticeable bedhead. The politician smirked as she headed to her bag in search of a much needed brush.

**Peach:** _Camping on the first night was much more enjoyable than I thought it would be. It helped that the flowers here offer a lot of support from the ground, alleviating any discomfort. Nevertheless, I feel like I hardly slept last night. My mind was moving a mile a minute, just thinking about this game._

"I see you're up as well," Dimentio addressed as he zipped his tent flap shut. "Not like it's easy to stay asleep when one's olfactory nerves drag them from their slumber." Peach followed the direction of his index finger, which was pointing at a pair of picnic tables less than fifty yards from the tents. On them were twelve placeholders, as well as a set of buffet servers containing various breakfast items: danishes, sausage, eggs and orange juice.

"I don't recall those being there when were setting up camp last night," Peach observed, sitting down at one of the benches. "Well, breakfast is breakfast. No complaints about how it appeared."

"Did someone mention breakfast?" Vinny asked, having also detected the odor of food as distinct from the flora surrounding them. "Good! I feel like I could eat da wings off a jumbo jet!"

"And somehow, I wouldn't be surprised if you did," Dimentio smirked as he filled up his breakfast plate.

"Well, one day in, and I can already mark one thing off of my bucket list," Peach stated pridefully. "Pitched my first tent. I know; you're all mighty proud of me."

"Not to be Johnny Raincloud, but you did need some rescuing by yours truly," came a voice from behind her. Parakarry winked reassuringly as he sat down at the table.

Within the next fifteen minutes, the remaining players progressed from their tents to the breakfast provided. Nastasia removed her glasses to rub her eyes. "Yeah, just a head's up, but I'm probably gonna be a bit grouchy this morning. My sleeping bag did not warm up at all last night," she cautioned.

Goombella grinned. "No worries: I think we were prepared to embrace that possibility." Nastasia rolled her eyes as she took another bite of her pastry.

**Goombella: **_I don't know...I think we're just two conflicting personalities. Of course, being the Type A that I am, I admit that I'm a contributor to that tension. Partially, at least._

"Well, you wouldn't be the only one," Koover admitted. "After all that's happened just after the day, I feel like I might go into an adrenaline withdrawal! An insomniac's worst nightmare."

Bandy Andy began snickering lightly. "What didn't help was your spontaneous snoring sessions throughout the night. Almost reminded me of the crowds at the Pit!"

Koover dropped his fork in alarm. "Wait, did I really? Damn...my wife wasn't kidding..." The other players laughed at the expense of their comrade as the Koopa sank into his shell, clearly humiliated.

**Koover:** _I'm telling you, its gotta be the flowers! Sure, there's a good amount where I live, but it's just allergies! I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who suffers! Boy, talk embarrassing..._

Sushie set down her glass of orange juice. "Just watch, Blue's probably going to pop out of nowhere like he always does."

"Aw, that spoils the surprise." As if Sushie's line had been his cue, Blue could be seen walking towards the picnic tables.

Mamar sighed in relief. "Thankfully I was more prepared that time than I was at dinner last night..."

"I assume that each of you have fared well with our makeshift bed & breakfast, no?" Blue questioned.

"Oh, it was the most excellent of accommodations," Pennington exaggerated. "Five-star quality. Give my regards to the manager."

Ms. Mowz batted her eyes. "It wasn't that unbearable, sweetums. But enough with this prattling: you didn't come over here just to be cordial, did you?"

The host chuckled. "Of course I did! I find it rather courteous of me to inform you about about a mission you will be participating in later, no?" Upon hearing this, the players silenced their table talk to focus on the host.

"Although today's mission will be taking place later, I'll need for you to determine what your roles will be. I need two people who understand the aim of the game, two people to whom time is their enemy, and two people who, well, don't have a clue."

"I'll take the time group," Dimentio volunteered before the others had an opportunity to give their say.

"Whoa whoa, let's make this a mutual decision," Parakarry cautioned.

**Dimentio:** _I see no fault in exhibiting haste when determining what roles want for the upcoming mission. It's basic algebra: if you desire it, you secure it by being the first. Simple as that, wouldn't you agree?_

**Vinny:** _Maybe he was adamant about being in dat group because he knew it would be da easiest to sabotage? I dunno, I just found it a bit...odd._

Nastasia shrugged. "I have no objections to him wanting that job, so go right ahead."

"We should try to figure out what the groups mean before we rush a decision, though," Mamar advised. "Time is their enemy...what do we propose that could mean?"

"In that case...maybe Sushie or Pennington should do it," Bandy Andy suggested. Sushie appeared to have taken offense.

"Something you're trying to imply, sonny?" Pennington inquired, raising an eyebrow in response. "Well, not like I disagree. Time refuses to get agree with this back of mine, that's affirmative."

Sushie raised her fin. "I suppose I'm one without a clue," she offered. "If you need proof, just look at my performance on the ropes yesterday!"

"So Sushie will be the one without a clue. Does anybody wish to join her?" Mamar asked. Nobody responded. "Okay, I guess I'll nominate myself, since I don't have a clue as to who else will!"

"Now we just need two people for the aiming one," Ms. Mowz established. "Any takers?"

"I'll go for it," Peach proposed. "I suppose I have a fairly decent aim. I mean, I've pitched in baseball games before, so it shouldn't be much of a problem for me."

"But the question is, do they mean aim literally or in context?" Goombella rationalized.

Koover nudged Bandy Andy's shoulder. "Well, if it's to be taken literally, I nominate Andy. Considering he's a professional fighter, I'm pretty sure he'd need aim in order compete well, no?"

"I would nominate Andy as well," Pennington seconded. "And Peach. I feel confident with both choices."

"Well, if the team's chosen me, I guess I gotta represent!" Bandy Andy announced, flashing a peace sign.

"So would anyone wish to clarify the roles for me?" the host requested.

"It sounds like Peach and Bandy Andy will be da aimers, Pennington and Dimentio da time one, and Mamar and Sushie wit'out a clue," Vinny concluded.

Blue nodded in confirmation. "Very well. You won't discover what your roles signify until later, so until then, feel free to finish your fine dining and I'll leave you be." As he left the breakfast tables, the players returned to their meal, though in their heads each of them began conceptualizing what their choices would entail. Except for the Mole, who, while finishing the remains of their breakfast, simply checked over their to-do list for the day.

And undermining the other eleven was circled at the very top.

* * *

><p><strong>AH SNAP!...actually, that wasn't really a cliffhanger. More like a plateau of player development. But hey, it's an update!<strong>

**And even though the previous reviews were all written within the past _two and a half years_, I've decided I'm still going to reply to them! I value your comments like Energizer batteries: they keep me going. :)**

**PRINCESS TOADY (1):** _Thank you for your comments! Glad to hear that you like the cast I selected. But yeah, I do agree with you about the SPM characters. They're dandy, but just can't be compared to the brilliance of the first two games. Though at the same time, compared to the lacking atrocity that was Sticker Star, they're practically raised to sainthood. :P I'll probably add future polls only before execution chapters to allow more time for thought. Hopefully that won't be a ridiculous amount of time..._

**CHAMP 15:** _Mole Hunter for the win! You say you don't like Pennington? RUDIMENTARY! I appreciate your confidence in my clue-hiding ability, but I think my biggest fear is that everybody will solve them and I'll in essence fail as the writer. But I've done my best, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled! As for the cast, I tried to come up with as diverse a group as I could, hence the inclusion of the different species. Developing personalities is probably more important than designing the Mole, after all. Thank you for sharing your suspicions! (Even though my second update wasn't soon...nor was this one :P)_

**LEONPIANTA:** _It's the Don himself! Thank you for your kind words! I'm hoping I can succeed at writing a setup as demanding as the Mole is. I'm definitely paranoid that I'll do a poor job, but I guess that keeps me on my toes. I believe I've clarified this via PM before, but to specify, Koover was the first Koopa Mario meets in Koopa Village before having his shell stolen by a Fuzzy. After that, he also serves as part of the #tedious letter-chain, specifically writing about a fishing trip. The Mario wiki discusses him in a bit more detail, but otherwise he's pretty minor in the first Paper Mario. I tried creating a cast that including both better- and lesser-knowns in the series.__  
><em>

**FREDTHEMONTYMOLE:** _Thank you for reviewing and for your suspicions! I enjoy seeing the mindsets of the readers compared to my own since I already know what's going to happen whereas your frame of mind progresses as the story progresses...if it progresses quickly, that is. :P_

**PRINCESS TOADY (2):** _Yeah: I was surprised as well, considering my reputation for slowness! (This additional hiatus just dumps more fuel on that already burning fire) I tried describing events like the paraglide and the rappel as best as possible. While I have been rappelling, I've never paraglided, so I tried my best to be accurate considering my lack of field experience. I guess I understand Sushie's pain. :P Thank you for your suspicions! I look forward to seeing how they may grow or change with the results of the first mission._

**Thank you to everyone who has followed this story in spite of my haphazard updating! I understand my delays can be frustrating, but I appreciate you sticking with it! Again, my goal would be to complete this episode by the end of August at the latest, which should be two more chapters. I promise no guarantee after that, but even in spite of my busy schedule, I'll do my best.**

**One last note: over the past few days, I have been constructing a website for this game. This will contain player profiles and episode summaries as well as a gallery to post picture clues that may appear throughout the story. I anticipate to have it published and available for use sometime in the near future.**

**Thank you for supporting this story! I look forward to speedier updates. (Hopefully, I won't have begun my future of ramen-and-popcorn dieting by then...)**


	4. Sinking Suspicions

**Say whaaaa? An update? And in under three weeks? Hmm. Must have been Mole sabotage. :P**

**Exciting announcement! My Mole website is fully operational! You can access the link at the top of my profile. (While there, you can also vote on the first poll on who you think the Mole is for Episode 1) At the moment, the site includes character bios, mission summaries, and a gallery where I'll be posting any potential picture clues. Speaking of which, the first one has been posted!**

**Without further ado, let's begin Part 4:**

* * *

><p><strong>Episode 1 (Part 4)<strong>

A few hours after breakfast, the players were led to the southeastern sector of Flower Fields. Some of them noticed the transition of flora from the azaleas and daisies at the center of the region to more aquatic flowers such as lilies and cattails. Sure enough, they arrived at a broad lake with crystal blue water.

**Parakarry: **_The environment before us looked absolutely picturesque. In fact, all of Flower Fields feels like a snapshot from a top-rated home-and-garden magazine. But knowing the game we're playing, it was easy to assume that our mission wouldn't be quite as peaceful._

"You know, if the water's this tranquil...why does it sound like I'm hearing a waterfall?" Ms. Mowz wondered as the players passed by banks and up a small ridge. Her question was quickly answered: at the base of the ridge laid a vast, gravel depression. The sound of rushing water was being produced from a large hose manned by the producers, rapidly filling the vat. Without warning the hose was shut off, and Blue turned to face the curious players.

"Wait, what's that floating in the middle?" Koover asked, pointing to the bobbing bag.

Blue grinned. "Oh that? Just 20000 coins." The players looked at him apprehensively. "And it could be yours for the taking should you be successful in your next mission. It's called 'Pull the Plug', and you can either snag 20000 coins or watch that money go...down the drain. Quite literally."

"And let me guess: it won't be as simple as swimming out to collect it," Dimentio reasoned.

"Of course not!" Blue asseverated. "But the explanation should be simple, as you've already delegated the roles you will have for this mission." He turned to Peach and Bandy Andy.

"You two. Being confident that you understand the aim of the game, your role will require exactly that." Reaching into his jacket pocket, the host retrieved two wooden slingshots. He pointed at the large tree behind them, from whose branches hung six colored targets. "Your job will be to knock down all six of these clay targets. Tied to each is an envelope that you may collect after hitting. However, there is a specific order in which you must shoot the targets: you must hit them in the order they appear in the electromagnetic spectrum."

"So, we shoot in rainbow order?" Peach clarified.

"Precisely. For instance, you would start by aiming for red and proceed from there. However, if you hit a target out of order, you may not retrieve the envelope until you have eliminated all targets prior in the order. When you have a bag, you will transport it to Mamar and Sushie at this blackboard. Whatever you do afterwards is up to you." The shooters nodded in understanding as the two mentioned ladies awaited their instructions from the host.

"Mamar and Sushie. Having stated that you felt like you hadn't a clue...well, let's just hope that's not the case." Mamar gulped.

**Sushie: **_Clearly we didn't have a clue. From what it sounds like, Mamar and I got ourselves involved in the most critical and challenging part of the mission!_

The host continued. "You see, inside each envelope is a riddle with three answers. Attached to each answer is a grid coordinate." Blue paused his explanation to lead the players a few more yards up the ridge.

"HOLY HUGENESS!" Bandy Andy blurted. He swiftly covered his mouth from his outburst. Before the players, a massive grove of fruit trees extended for a substantial distance. "But for reals, that's...huge."

"If 160000 meticulously planted trees falls under your definition of huge," Blue replied calculatedly.

**Ms. Mowz: **_Johnny Appleseed must have hit the jackpot._

"Allow me to elaborate. The coordinates associated with an answer represent a specific tree in the 16-acre orchard in front of you. The coordinate will consist of two letters, the first referring to a horizontal section, the latter referring to a vertical. For instance, the tree at coordinate (A, T) would be located somewhere at the top right corner of the field. Each section is further divided into numerical rows and columns. Thus, a coordinate would look more like (A1, T10), which would represent the tree located at row 1, column 10 of the grid A-A."

Vinny frowned. "Dat seems awfully complicated, especially for just two people."

Blue slapped his forehead. "My apologies; I suppose I should clarify. Mamar and Sushie will be communicating their answers via walkie-talkie. The six of you who were not assigned a position...Goombella, Nastasia, Ms. Mowz, Koover, Parakarry, and you, Vinny...will be responsible for using the coordinates relayed to you to locate six digits, located in wicket baskets at the base of a correct tree. Thus, should the clue solvers not give a correct answer to a riddle, the coordinates would not lead to a basket. Oh, and since the scavengers are only being given one walkie-talkie, you would have to run back to the station to inform the clue-solvers that their answer was wrong."

**Nastasia: **_T__his mission sounded like it would be a joyride for the Mole. So many complicated components offering so many opportunities. Sabotaging today would be a walk in the park._

"Hold up, good sir," Pennington interrupted. "I do believe you're forgetting two of us, no?"

The host smiled. "One final element. You and Dimentio, to whom time knows no enemy, should thus have no difficulties functioning as the clock-keepers for this mission. At the start of the mission, the plug at the bottom of the pool will be released, causing the water level to gradually drain out through the bottom. Currently, there is about thirty minutes of water filling the pool. Your job will be to add as much more time as possible to keep the pool throughout the mission, for when if at any point it runs dry, the 20000 coins will be swept away, resulting in instant loss."

Blue directed their focus to a spot on the opposite bank. "See that well over there? You can add time by filling the buckets you see with water from that pump to transport and dump in the pond. Should offer a bit of an endurance workout," he chuckled. Pennington did not seem amused.

Goombella reviewed the facts in her head. "So we have our shooters, our solvers, our timekeepers and our scavengers. But the question remains: how do we snatch the twenty grand?"

Having explained all of the roles, Blue concluded by pointing to a lever located beside the pool. Attached to it was a six-number combination lock. "Mamar and Sushie must enter the numbers retrieved by the scavengers. In order to prevent the money from sinking, you'll have to find what's missing in this game to unlock the lock and pull the lever, thus sealing the hole at the bottom of the lake. Make sense?" Blue received nods of affirmation from the group.

"Well then, if there are no further questions, without further ado, let's begin!" The twelve players began to prepare themselves as they awaited their opportunity to put money in the pot-sans one, that is.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Mission 2:<span> _Pull the Plug_**

**"Aim of the Game": **_Bandy Andy, Peach_

**"Time Knows No Enemy": **_Dimentio, Pennington_

**"Without a Clue":** _Mamar, Sushie_

**Scavengers:** _Goombella, Nastasia, Ms. Mowz, Parakarry, Koover, Vinny_

* * *

><p>"Your mission begins...NOW!"<p>

On Blue's cue, the plug at the bottom of the depression was released, and the water began gradually diffusing through the hole. Twenty thousand coins bobbed steadily at the surface, as the pool still contained a large amount of water before it would dry up. Refusing to waste precious seconds, Pennington and Dimentio ran to the well in an effort to add time for the remaining players.

"OOF!" Pennington wheezed as he made contact with the ground. "That...that smarts..."

**Dimentio: **_It was absolutely pathetic. Hilarious, but pathetic. Ten seconds into the mission and it's already been made clear that Pennington was not the optimal choice for this position. Ideally, I would have been paired with someone strong like Vinny or swift like Bandy Andy, but instead 20000 coins hangs in the balance of a geezer's athleticism. Stupendous._

Dimentio groaned as he forcefully helped the Bumpty to his feet. "No more clumsiness. We don't have time for clumsiness." He grabbed a nearby bucket and swiftly filled it with water before sprinting back to the pool to dump it.

"Watch it! You're spilling half of the bucket when you swing it that violently," Pennington cautioned, walking over to he pond with his bucket at a much slower pace. "Take your time and I daresay you'll find yourself transporting more water once you arrive."

"Doesn't the objective 'time knows no enemy' mean anything to you?" Dimentio reminded, promptly refilling the bucket and passing up Pennington in the process. "Supposedly, our peers would have selected us because time's our friend, so let's be proactive and not make it our enemy."

Pennington huffed as he cautiously dumped a bucket into the sinking pool of water. "Even if that's so, just wait until you reach my age. You'll just about have a midlife crisis when you learn that time's certainly no crony."

"Whatever, less chatter, more matter," Dimentio barked poetically. Pennington couldn't help but chuckle at their frenetic situation. He filled another bucket, an action that would gather a lot of repetition throughout the duration of the mission.

* * *

><p>Bandy Andy picked up the slingshot and observed it contemplatively. "This thing's a cheapo piece of garbage!" he whined as he picked up a pebble and speedily fired a shot to nowhere in particular. Namely, a shot that landed at the base of his feet.<p>

"Don't rush it. The 'aim of the game' is to hit the targets, isn't it?" Peach advised, testing out her own slingshot. She pulled back on the drawstring, lined up her trajectory with the cyan target and fired.

Bandy Andy interjected. "You're forgetting that we have to shoot them down in spectral order! Don't be wasting rocks shooting for the blue targets when we need to hit the red one first."

Peach shook her head. "But there's something fishy about it though. Rainbows are composed of seven colors: ever heard of the anagram Roy G. Biv? Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. So humor me this: why are we only shooting at six?" She lined up her next shot in the same direction as her first, but once again missed the target.

**Bandy Andy:**_ Peach was yammering about something to do with a guy named Roy and that it meant there was some hidden element to our part of the challenge just because the indigo was missing? I mean, what on earth is that all about?_

"Uuuuuh, because there's only six scavengers and six digits?" Andy attempted to reason. "Look, it doesn't matter if the producers failed kindergarten or not. The first clue the ladies can solve is attached to the red target, so we should be directing our shots there rather than towards the blue." He grabbed a second pebble and slung it towards the clay target. A small portion of the plate broke as the pebble ricocheted to the ground, but not with the clue.

"You would think this would be easy," Peach laughed, missing the red target with her next shot. Bandy Andy shrugged.

"These pitiful slingshots make it a crapshoot though...ha, get it? Because they're crap, and we're shooting with them-"

_SMASH!_

"I got it!" Peach hollered as she unhesitatingly ran into the firing zone to retrieve the bag. "Mamar! Sushie! Get ready, I have your first clue!"

* * *

><p>"Good job!" Mamar cheered as the princess handed off the red bag. She promptly began to untie the knot at the top to retrieve the clue inside.<p>

"I hope the clues aren't too difficult to solve," Sushie noted apprehensively. "Puzzles and riddles have never really been my forte, you know." When she'd loosened the knot, Mamar reached into the bag and withdrew their first clue:

**RED**

**Six flower pots are arranged in a row. The tulips are located ahead of the hydrangeas but behind the violets. The magnolias are two flowers ahead of the azaleas. The azaleas are located somewhere between the sunflowers and the violets. The hydrangeas are two flowers behind the sunflowers. Which flower is second from the right in this order?**

**A.) Sunflowers: **(B10, C13)

**B.) Hydrangeas:** (H16, O6)

**C.) Tulips: **(I5, A1)**  
><strong>

Sushie's face drained in color. "Suspicions confirmed...oh dear, how do you even start with one of these?"

Mamar grabbed a piece of chalk and proceeded to write the numbers 1-6 on the blackboard, as well as the names of all six flowers. "Tulips, hydrangeas, violets, magnolias, azaleas, sunflowers. We're focusing on the one that's second from the right, or fourth from the left, correct?"

"I'm following you...so the violets are ahead of both the tulips and the hy-wait, we'd need the fifth from the left, not the fourth," Sushie corrected. The Star Spirit looked up at the board in confusion before realizing her mistake.

"Oh, right! My bad," Mamar replied sheepishly. "But as you were saying, violets are ahead of both tulips and hydrangeas. However, we can rule out hydrangeas because they're two ahead of sunflowers, and the flower we're looking for only has one other flower behind it." She proceeded to cross of choice B from the list, but Sushie grabbed her arm in alarm.

"Whoa! You're misreading it! It says that the hydrangeas are two flowers _behind_ sunflowers, so we can't eliminate it just yet."

**Sushie:** _Mamar's approach was to solve the puzzles rapidly because she feared that the scavengers would have difficulty pinpointing the baskets and that Pennington and Dimentio would need all the time they could get to prevent the pool from draining. However, in doing so she would make careless mistakes that she might not have made had she slowed down to interpret the clues properly._

Mamar sighed in frustration as she reread the clue. "Well, the opposite of what I said still holds water. The answer isn't sunflowers."

"Be that as it may, we still need to determine which one it is out of the last two," Sushie reiterated. She glanced over the other two statements they had been provided, then at the markings Mamar had already written on the board: **V-T-H, S_H**

"Magnolias two ahead of azaleas, which are between sunflowers and violets," Mamar affirmed, writing **M_A** and **S-A-V** beside her other scribbles. "Now we just need to combine these in accordance with the outline and we'll have our answer."

Sushie picked up her own piece of chalk. "So...magnolias look like they'd be first...and if that's the case, the sunflowers would have to come after...which would have to be followed by the azaleas...but wait, hydrangeas would have to be next, but they have to be ahead of the violets and tulips."

Mamar frowned. "What if we put them before the mag-no, that wouldn't work, because the azaleas have to be between sunflowers and violets...aha!" Sushie perked up as Mamar promptly erased the **S-A-V** mark and replaced it with **V-A-S**. "Azaleas are between sunflowers and violets, but that doesn't mean the sunflowers come first."

Sushie bit her lip in contemplation. "Okay...magnolias first, followed by violets, then azaleas...then sunflowers-"

"Tulips!" Mamar exclaimed. "It all fits, tulips go after the sunflowers and before the hydrangeas. And it puts the tulips behind the violets and ahead of the hydrangeas as according with the first statement. The answer is C." She ran over to the walkie-talkie and punched the red communicative button, prepared to relay the coordinates to the awaiting scavengers.

* * *

><p>Away from the events surrounding the pool, the six scavengers stood anxiously by a picnic table near the gate of the orchard. The gate opened at the bottom left corner, near the zone T-A. Unable to the participate in the challenge until they received coordinates, they could only wait-a grueling occupation when time was of the essence.<p>

Vinny couldn't prevent himself from pacing restively. "Shouldn't we have received da first clue by now?" he asked concernedly.

As if on cue, the walkie-talkie beeped, causing Goombella to jump from her seat. _"This is Mamar! Does anybody copy?"_

Parakarry dived for the device. "Mamar, this is Parakarry! We can read you loud and clear, over!"

_"Okay, we have the first set of coordinates for you! You're looking for I5, A1. Repeat, I as in ivy, 5, A as in apple, 1."_

"I5, A1. I5, A1. Got it!" He repeated the digits to himself a few times before setting the walkie-talkie back down. "Okay, I'm heading out!"

"Wait," Koover interjected before the Paratroopa had run off too far. "Somebody should go with you. It'll be easier with two pairs of eyes to find the basket among all of those trees."

"Nice to know I'm trusted," Parakarry retorted, crossing his arms.

"Yeah, you'll get over it. He's right, you know," Nastasia inputted. "Not to mention it gives accountability in case the Mole decides to strike somehow."

Ms. Mowz stood up. "I'll go with you. No objections? Marvelous. Let's head out, scout!" She proceeded to reach for the walkie-talkie until she recalled the rule that the device had to stay at the picnic table. Smirking to herself, she grabbed Parakarry's unsuspecting hand and dragged him off into the orchard.

Goombella laughed. "That was like a scene out of some sappy chick flick." Nastasia rolled her eyes as the scavengers watched their companions head off.

* * *

><p><strong>Peach:<strong> _After successfully hitting the first target, I was feeling pretty confident with myself. But that was deceiving, because our luck began to run out after that._

Bandy Andy sighed as another pebble landed at the base of the orange target. "This one's farther away than the red one, which is making it harder to hit."

"You still need to fulfill your quota," Peach teased as she pulled back on her slingshot. Her humor soon returned to chagrin as she once again missed the plate.

"I'm telling you, this is nothing more than a flimsy band hitched to a tree branch," Andy defended. "If we'd been given something a bit more sophisticated, I guarantee I'd have all the targets shot down by now."

"Whatever you need to say to make yourself feel better," Peach responded. "If only it could make it _shoot_ better..."

The fighter set down his slingshot to survey the five targets in front of them. "What if we changed up our strategy a bit? Maybe we shouldn't focus so much on aiming for the one we can't hit and go for whatever we can. Sure, we can't hand over the clues until we get the orange first, but at least we won't be wasting all of our time on the one we can't hit."

Peach frowned, misfiring once again. "Sounds like what I was doing earlier. I mean, there's something suspicious about six targets when there's seven colors in a rainbow." Her partner just shook his head in amusement.

"You're way over-thinking this," he simpered, firing off another shot.

_Smash!_

The fighter fist-pumped. "Woooo! Got one...er, the yellow one..."

* * *

><p>With the water continuing to effuse from the bottom of the pool, Dimentio and Pennington continued to break a sweat as they ventured to give their teammates additional time. After pouring another load into the pool, Pennington dropped his bucket to catch his breath.<p>

"Huff...if I'm being brutally honest...I'm not sure time's on my side," he wheezed. His partner didn't seem pleased by this break in action.

"How much time do you think we have?" Dimentio spat, dumping the water from his bucket and promptly returning to collect more from the well.

"Easy lightning, not all of us are as energetic as a child as you might be," Pennington maintained as he resumed his labor. Upon standing up, Dimentio tossed water towards the pool, partially spraying the detective in the process.

"What in blazes was that for?" Pennington roared, wiping his eyes from the surprise blast.

"Hey, just figured you needed a little pick-me-up is all," Dimentio excused. "And speaking of which, lets pick up the pace. Break time's over, we're on a deadline."

Pennington growled as he rushed backed to the well. "You enjoyed that, didn't you." Dimentio flashed a toothy grin.

* * *

><p>Back in the orchard, Ms. Mowz and Parakarry began their search for the first of the numbers necessary to unlock the lever to the pool. "We should head to the top first," Ms. Mowz advised, "because the A-section will be easy to point out since it's the uppermost. After that, we can narrow down where the I-section is."<p>

"We should run, because we're already at the bottom," Parakarry voiced, already speeding his steps. As they advanced up the path, a dangling plum fell from an overhead branch, conveniently landing on the unsuspected Paratroopa. "OW! Seriously, how does that even happen?" Ms. Mowz laughed unashamedly at his misfortune.

**Ms. Mowz:**_ He's absolutely adorable. He tries so hard and means to do well, but disaster seems to tailgate him like a hungry lapdog around every corner. It's amusing, but you can't help but empathize with him. _

"Gravity can be a real head-knocker, I suppose," an amused Ms. Mowz chuckled. Nothing could conceal the blush that began to form on Parakarry's cheeks.

"Never mind. You're keeping track of the signs we're passing by, right?" Parakarry asked. He pointed as they ran down the path between two sectors of trees. As they passed the corner of one on their right, the players observed two signs: the one facing north was labeled **A**, and the one facing east read **J**.**  
><strong>

Bree perked up. "I9, A1. The vertical column is easy because it's the one we're following on the far left. And the horizontal I-section should be just up ahead." The two ran further before observing the sign which designated the section of trees they were looking for.

"Okay, now that we're here," Parakarry began, resting for a moment to observe the orchard in front of him, "we just need to find the basket. And it should be at the tree in the ninth row, first column, correct?"

Ms. Mowz smiled. "Should be easy to find, since it'll be one of the outermost." She dashed ahead, scanning the rows of trees on her right. A few seconds later, she disappeared from Parakarry's sight save her heart-shaped tail. When she popped back out, she possessed a red coin with the number _9. _

"Didn't even need to count," she teased, tossing the coin in the paratroopa's direction. He fumbled to catch it, watching it fall to the leafy ground instead.

**P****arakarry:** _We found the first digit in mere minutes, and I was feeling confidant. There was no chance of that 20000 coins sinking, not in my mind at least. But at the same time, I don't have the Mole's mind._

* * *

><p><em>Smash!<em>

"Well...that was almost pointless," Bandy Andy sighed, watching the purple bag his pebble had contacted fall to the ground.

"Not entirely. We're going to need it at some point," Peach encouraged from his left. She glanced behind her at the two clue solvers, impatiently waiting for their next enigma.

"We need to redirect our focus to the orange target," she noted with a new sense of determination. "What are we doing wrong?"

Bandy Andy squinted at the object that had become his menace. Comparatively, the orange plate was indeed higher and a greater distance away from them than the red one had been, but certainly within firing range from the player's position. "How am I supposed to know? I'm no David, even if this is a Goliath."

"Try shooting another shot," Peach suggested, setting down her slingshot. "I'll try to pay attention to where your shot launches."

"Suit yourself." Andy aimed at the target and released the drawstring. The rock soared upwards, but the trajectory faded a few inches before the target, landing beneath it.

"You need to aim higher. Your stone's losing momentum before it even draws close," the politician observed.

The fighter raised an eyebrow. "And how did you become an expert sharpshooter within the past-"

_Smash!_

Peach made no comment as she smugly marched to retrieve both the orange and yellow bags, leaving Bandy Andy with the metaphoric task of picking his jaw back up from the ground.

* * *

><p>"Well finally!" Sushie teased, retrieving the bags from the princess and rushing back to the blackboard. Mamar hastily reached for the orange bag to untie it. Sushie shook her head. "Relax, we can't rush this!"<p>

"We can't squander either, we're losing time as it is already," she warned, pulling out the slip with the clue and reading it to her partner.

**ORANGE**

**Solve the following equation: 1*2+3*4+5*6+7*8+9*0=_?_**

**A.) 0-50: **(A15, P5)

**B.) 51-100:** (M4, M18)

**C.) Greater than 100: **(S12, D9)

Sushie seemed to be relieved. "This seems much easier than the first one. Just basic grade-school algebra!"

Her partner didn't seem nearly as confident. "That doesn't mean we'll be right, though. And we can't afford to be wrong."

"But don't you see? The answer's obvious!" Realizing that Mamar did not understand what she was implying, Sushie elaborated. "Just look at it! The numbers at the front are meant to appear intimidating, but in the end you just multiply everything by zero. So the answer's A. Simple as that." She began to reach for the walkie-talkie, but Mamar stopped her.

"No, it isn't. Order of operations ring any bells?" Sushie pondered over this before the realization hit her.

**Mamar:**_ You want to believe Sushie because of her heartwarming demeanor and motherly persona, but you can't eradicate the possibility that it's meant to be misleading. She almost got away with a wrong answer, and what's scary is that I almost let her._

"Forgive me, it's been a while since my education," Sushie declared with a reminiscent sigh. "It should still be straightforward though. One times two is two, plus three is five, times four is twenty, plus five is-"

"Wrong," Mamar interjected politely. "Multiplication comes first, then addition." She picked up the nearby chalk and began solving the equation on the board. "In that case, we're left **2+12+30+56+0**. And now we add them all up to get..."

"One hundred," Sushie deduced. The Cheep Cheep smiled innocently at the Star Spirit. "_Now_ may I relay the coordinates? The (M4, M18) coordinates, that is?" While she began to contact the scavengers over the walkie-talkie, Mamar untied the yellow bag and began observing it's contents:

**YELLOW**

**Which item in this list is not like the others? GATE TAG/GOOD DOG/LACED DECAL/LONELY TYLENOL/MEGA GEM**

**A.) Good Dog: **(E4, L19)

**B.) Laced Decal: **(B8, Q11)

**C.) Mega Gem: **(J12, N2)

"What in the world?" Mamar expressed, visibly perplexed by the riddle she had just read. Sushie rejoined her shortly after. By the look on her face, she was equally confused.

"Um...anything unusual stick out to you?" Sushie suggested, unsure of how to approach the enigma.

Mamar transcribed all five terms onto the blackboard. "Lonely Tylenol sticks out like a sore thumb because of it's length and because I fail to see how the adjective could actually describe a painkiller, but it obviously isn't the answer."

"Well, lonely could mean that it's the only one of its kind," Sushie rationalized. "But I don't think it hast to do with adjectives, because all of them make sense. Are any of them lacking a certain letter?"

"Hmm...Laced Decal doesn't have a G? But then again, neither does Lonely Tylenol..." Mamar trailed, struggling to make sense of the clue.

"Maybe it still has to do with the letters, but the number of letters?" Sushie suggested. She proceeded to count the number of letters in each phrase. "Following that logic, Laced Decal raises some interest. The other phrases each consist of an odd number of letters, whereas Laced Decal is composed of an even number: ten."

Mamar furrowed her forehead. "That seems like an awfully vague way to base it, though...but following that train of thought, all the others consist of a noun that's an odd number of letters and an adjective that's an even. Laced Decal is the only one to have an odd number for both."

"Do we want to go with it then?" Sushie asked, raising her fins in defeat. "I'm at a lack for any other explanation."

Mamar headed for the walkie-talkie. "We shouldn't waste more time than necessary. We have no better conclusion, so we might as well go with it. And if it's right, it's better that we give them the coordinates to search for it sooner than delay them further just to gain the same conjecture." With that said, Sushie watched as the red light on the communicator lit up as Mamar prepared to transmit their response for the third digit.

* * *

><p>Taking a moment to stretch her limbs, Nastasia stood up from the picnic table. She groaned as her gaze turned to the walkie-talkie. "Kay, they're taking way too long on those puzzles. Seriously, what's the deal?"<p>

Goombella sighed. "You can't just toss the blame around until there's legitimate reason to do so. We're barely into this mission after all; give them the benefit of the doubt."

"Well, if one of them's the Mole, yeah, there's plenty of blame to be given." The secretary smirked to herself, turning away her face. "I figured someone who professes their intelligence as much as you would know that basic fact."

The archaeology graduate "I'm sorry, was that addressed at me, community college?" Fortunately for the group dynamic, the walkie-talkie beeped, capturing the attention of the players.

"You twos, quit it," Vinny said abruptly, handing the walkie-talkie to Koover.

_"Hello, this is Sushie! I have the next set of coordinates! M4, M18! Got it?"_

"M4, M18?" Koover confirmed.

_"That's affirmative! All right, good luck! We have the next puzzle ready, so we should have it for you in just a few."_ With that, the device clicked off.

Vinny spoke up first. "I'll take dis one. It sounds like it's in da very middle. Who wants ta go with me?"

Koover volunteered. "Let's head out," he said, jogging off with the bodyguard. Goombella waved them off, then turned around to the realization of who remained with her.

**Goombella:**_ I would have protested, but that's so not my style. Still...ug._

Without a word, both players sat back down at the picnic table, watching the dust created by Koover and Vinny fade from the trail leading into the orchard. After two or so minutes of awkward tension, the walkie-talkie lit up once more, signalling their attention.

_"It's Mamar. The third coordinate is B8, Q11. That's B as in bean, 8, Q as in queen, 11."_

"Got it. Thanks Mamar!" Goombella responded.

_"Just a note, we're not as confident about this answer, so if you don't find the number right away, don't waste too much time searching for it."_

"Why don't you take the time to make sure then?" Nastasia snapped. Upon receiving a glare from Goombella, the secretary rephrased her reply. "Whatever. Duly noted. Over and out." After setting down the walkie-talkie, she began heading into the orchard, not turning to face Goombella. "Let's make this snappy then. You coming with?"

* * *

><p>Twelve minutes had elapsed since the plug had been pulled. The water level of the pool had dropped accordingly, which also created a miniature vortex in the center. The timekeepers watched in helpless concern as their money bag floated precariously in the center, subjected to the whirling current around it.<p>

This picture of unease encouraged Pennington fill his bucket faster. "You don't suppose our money could be flushed away even with water, do you? It worries me to watch it just dance around that whirlpool."

Dimentio burst into laughter as he poured more water into the vat. "At what rhythm? Actively like a quickstep, or smoothly like a rumba? Enough aimless chatter, we have a task to do, don't we?" Pennington could have sworn to have heard him hiss as he returned without delay to the well.

**Pennington:** _The lad's dangerous. He's like a Rubik's cube: he has so many different sides to him, yet one can never quite solve him. At one moment, he'll be mysteriously poetic, another extensively rude, and yet another time playfully amused. You'd figure one might appreciate some consistency._

"No level of impertinence on your part will make our task any less monotonous," Pennington lectured, collecting more water from the well. "Speaking of which, it feels like there ought to be an easier method to this madness."

"What, filling buckets with water and transporting them for deposit ten yards away with a minimal sense of effectiveness doesn't satisfy you?" Dimentio replied sarcastically. "But however aimless our contributions are, we can't desist."

Pennington frowned. "Have you ever taken an matter seriously?"

"Well, I'm not the one who's slowed down in pouring water, am I?" Pennington gave Dimentio a blank stare equivalent to the jester's face. Accepting that their assignment really was as straightforward as what they had been doing, Pennington reluctantly resumed what felt like a tedious occupation.

Unbeknownst to them, a two-handle pump hose, concealed by a rose bush thirty meters to their right, remained untainted by player fingerprints.

* * *

><p>Vinny rested a moment under the shade of a pear tree to gather his breath. "It'll just be a second," he promised an impatient Koover.<p>

"Not to be a nag, but we're so close to where we need to be," Koover urged, pointing to a nearby East-West sign labeled **O **and a North-South sign labeled **M**. "It's just a few more sections above us. And once we get there, there's still, what, over a hundred different trees to search through?"

"Four hundred," Vinny clarified, immediately standing upright in realization of the further difficulty of their task. "Dough luckily for us da coordinates specify just one in particular."

"But if the coordinates we were given aren't correct, we could just be wasting our time," Koover warned. He continued running up the path, looking at the trees which loomed overhead. "You know," he said between breaths, "these trees remind me a lot of the ones that grow in my village."

"You live in a fruit orchard?" Vinny asked, huffing in the process.

"Nah, but my neighbor grows the best apricots you've ever tasted in her front yard," Koover reminisced, licking his lips in nostalgia. "You're from Rogueport, right? What's it like there?"

"Oh...chaotic," Vinny stated roughly. The gang-filled streets of his hometown didn't sound nearly as appetizing as what Koover had described.

"Well either way, I look forward to going there soon," Koover said, grinning reassuringly at the bodyguard. Suddenly he paused to read a sign they were running past: **J**. "Uh oh...I think we may have passed it..."**  
><strong>

**Vinny: **_Koover managed to engage me of all people in conversation, which distracted us from noticing da grid of trees we were supposed ta be looking for. Dat was a bit suspicious, not only because it wasted some time, but if he's da Mole, dat's a powerful skill to have up his belt._

The bodyguard didn't say a word, perhaps due to lack of breath, as he and Koover made a u-turn down the path. "Dere," Vinny panted, pointing at the double-**M **intersection they were looking for. "M4, M18...fourth row...eighteenth column..."

* * *

><p>The co-feminine scavenger pair avoided talking to each other as they made their way east through the orchard. Shortly after starting, Nastasia noticed the <strong>Q<strong> sign for the vertical grove of trees their coordinates indicated. "Yeah, you realize you're walking right past where we need to go, right?" she said to the Rogueport native in front of her.

Without losing cadence, Goombella promptly turned ninety degrees to her left. "I'm sorry, I know how much you like to point things out, so I figured I'd let you, I dunno, point it out," Goombella replied over her shoulder.

"Look, we have a digit to find, so let's just find it, mkay?" Nastasia didn't hesitate to send a cold smile to the back of Goombella's forehead.

The two continued their jog in silence. A minute later, they neared the northern edge of the orchard, stopping when they came across the **B** sign. Goombella made sure to stop in front of it this time. "Do you recall what the numbers were?" she asked with evident reluctance.

Nastasia smiled at the opportunity to launch a small attack. "Whoa, the valedictorian can't remember? Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to point that out." Goombella struggled to hold composure. "B11, Q8."

"Um, no? I'm pretty sure you have the numbers flipped..."

Nastasia raised an eyebrow. "Oh really now? Well, I'll check mine and you can check yours, and we'll see who's the brighter bulb."

"I would resent that, but I know I'm right," the Goomba argued. "But no way am I letting you check yours alone. What's to prevent you from, say, missing it because you dropped your glasses?"

"Yeah, but if you're so smug that your answer's right, then there won't be anything for me to miss," Nastasia retorted. Both females rolled their eyes as they began counting rows and columns.

* * *

><p>Two targets continued to taunt the shooters as they fired in unison, both shots missing. "Let's try this again," said a frustrated Peach, handing a pebble to her partner and keeping one for herself. "On my count...ready...aim...FIRE!" Bandy Andy watched helplessly as, once again, neither of their shots made contact.<p>

"What's that, fifty missed?" Andy moaned as he diligently reached for another pebble.

**Bandy Andy: **_I comfort myself by believing that none of the other players could have done any better than myself or the princess, but it really bruises your self-esteem to have that much trouble with, like, a child's activity. I wasn't even thinking that some of our failure might have been the Mole's bidding._

"I wonder if it'd be easier to just throw them ourselves," Peach suggested. On impulse, she drew her arm back and tossed the handful of rocks in her hand. To their surprise, one of them nicked the green disc.

"Whoa, that actually looked closer," Bandy Andy observed. "But will we actually have enough power to break it? And are we even allowed to bypass the slingshots?"

Peach shrugged, digging her hand into the bowl to collect more pebbles. "I'll be up front that I don't possess the answer. However, the more we use these tools, even though they're acting more like _tools_, it just hinders our progress further."

The Glitzville resident still seemed hesitant to go along with Peach's idea. "I don't recall Blue specifically saying that we had to use the slingshots, but he handed them to us like they were the intentional technique. And I don't want us getting penalized, yo?"

**Peach:** _I can't tell if Bandy Andy was purposely trying to steer us into using the slingshots which, despite successfully hitting some targets, were unpredictable and difficult to control. We wasted a lot of valuable time just trying to operate them properly._

"Well, if the money sinks, it's a little pointless, wouldn't you agree?" Peach reasoned. "Here, you probably have a stronger arm than I do, why don't you try?" She playfully tossed the stash of pebbles in her hand at her unsuspecting teammate.

"Hey, I didn't realize royalty was capable of assault!" Bandy Andy teased. Though skeptical, the fighter filled his hand with pebbles and aimed at the target.

_Smash!_

"Well, what do you know?" Peach laughed, running to deliver the next clue. One bag remained attached to a target, while another lay waiting on the ground.

* * *

><p>Mamar bit her lip nervously as she stared at walkie-talkie, unresponsive to communication by the scavengers. "We're not going to make it," she said in insouciant pessimism. "The money bag's probably dangerously near sinking by now..."<p>

"Hey now, Blue said that the pool contained at least thirty minutes of water," Sushie encouraged. "Besides, I'm pretty sure it's only been about twenty minutes. Not to mention, Pennington and Dimentio are over there adding more time." She pointed her fin at the silhouettes moving at the bank opposite the one they were situated at.

"Special delivery!" The clue hunters turned around, happy to receive their fourth riddle. Mamar made no delay as she tore into the green bag:

**GREEN**

**Blue picks irises and daisies for his grandmother. One basket can hold either 8 irises or 10 daisies. At the end of the day, Blue has picked 96 flowers which fit perfectly into all of his baskets. If Blue picked more irises than daisies, how many baskets does Blue have altogether?**

**A.) 10:** (R7, R8)

**B.) 11: **(T4, G15)

**C.) 12: **(K20, S13)

"Great, another math problem," Mamar sighed, grabbing a piece of chalk to begin solving the equation presented to them.

"Like I said previously, not my forte," Sushie apprised. "But let's not count our chickens before they hatch. Let's count...flowers!" Her partner chuckled lightly, helping to ease some of their nerves as they dived in to the puzzle.

After staring at the problem for a few more seconds, Mamar's face lit up in epiphany. "This shouldn't be taxing," she explained with a new-found enthusiasm. "Granted, it's a guess-and-check, but the numbers we're working with are very small. And we know that there are more irises than daisies, so we just have to plug in some numbers and we should get our answer!"

Sushie nodded, following along with what the Star Spirit was conveying. "Okay then...let's say that Blue gathered five baskets of daisies for his darling little grandmother. Ha, knew he had a soft side!"

"In that case, there would be fifty daisies," Mamar deduced, turning her words into information on the blackboard. "And ninety-six minus fifty is...forty-six. But a basket can hold eight irises, and forty-six isn't divisible by eight, so that's a false path." She crossed off five from the list and quickly moved on to a different number. "Six baskets of daisies would be sixty daisies. Ninety-six minus sixty is thirty-six..."

"Does eight go into thirty-six?" Sushie asked while attempting to do the division in her head. "Never mind, it isn't. So that's not it."

"Let's go down then," Mamar suggested. "Four baskets of daisies. Four times ten is forty. Ninety-six minus forty is fifty-six-"

"And eight goes into fifty-six!" Sushie exclaimed. "So that would make...seven baskets of irises?"

Mamar cheered as she circled the answer. "Seven plus four makes eleven! So B's the answer!" Feeling more confident this answer than the previous, she rushed to walkie-talkie and pushed down on the receiver. "Scavengers, it's Mamar, are you ready to receive?" She waited a few moments, but nobody picked up on the other end.

"I don't know much about technology, but are you on the right channel?" Sushie asked, looking at the device in Mamar's hands concernedly. The Star Spirit checked, but nothing seemed out of place.

**Mamar: **_I pressed the button multiple times trying to make contact with the scavengers, but nothing was working. Was it malfunctioning? Was it simple error? Was it the Mole?_

Far away from the pair, resting idly on a picnic table, a walkie-talkie transmitting Mamar's voice sounded. But her voice landed on deaf ears. Or rather, it didn't land on any ears at all.

* * *

><p>Parakarry and Ms. Mowz both let out a sigh of relief as they drew closer to the picnic table. The paratroopa proudly waved the red medallion over his head, but noticed that nobody was watching. "Good, it looks like they've solved more clues while we're gone; I don't see anybody, so they must be out searching."<p>

"Well, Mr. Proudypants, don't postpone your victory speech any further," Ms. Mowz coaxed, pointing to the walkie-talkie. "The quicker they enter that digit, the better!"

Parakarry immediately snatched the device and pressed the transmission button. "Hey hey hey, this is your friendly mail call! We have the first digit and we're ready to relay, over!"

To his alarm, the voice on the opposite end was not as welcoming. _"Where have you been? I've been calling for the past minute now!"_

The blood quickly rushed from Parakarry's face. "Oh, um, Ms. Mowz and I just got here. But the first clue you gave us is correct! The first number you guys need is a nine. Copy?"

Ms. Mowz put her hands on her hip as she listened to the conversation. _"Okay, Sushie is putting that number in now. But we have another set of coordinates for you to find, so pay attention: T4, G15. That's T as in tie, 4, G as in guy, 15. Got it?"_

"I think we've got it!" Parakarry responded, turning to Ms. Mowz to confirm that she understood the coordinates as well. "All right, keep up the good work, and don't let our money sink!" The walkie-talkie shut off without a reply.

The badge shop owner recalculated the orchard outline in her head. "I think I can picture where it's located, dearie. If you don't mind, I'll take this one." She began to head off, but Parakarry followed her right out the gate.

"Whoa, where do you think you're going without me?" Parakarry protested, quickly catching up to her gait.

**Ms. Mowz: **_I don't know if he's just a latchkey kind of kid, but especially after we'd developed an understanding for the layout, I logically figured that one of us would remain in case Mamar or Sushie were to transmit another clue. Granted, I trusted myself more, so I wasn't about to negotiate staying behind. And I'm not one to disappoint a fanboy wanting a ride-along._

"Hopefully our fellow scavenger friends found their digits with the same haste that we did and will be returning soon," Bree said. She craned her neck to look at the picnic table, then resumed a jogging pace as she and Parakarry ventured for their second clue.

* * *

><p>"One...two...three...four!" Vinny counted, Koover following closely behind. After counting out rows, the two players ran into the grove to pinpoint the specific column they were looking for.<p>

"M4, M18...so it'll be third from the end, right?" Koover justified. "That should save us from having to count all eighteen."

Neither Vinny nor Koover wasted any time arriving at the tree they had designated to be theirs. However, to their dismay, the item crucial to their mission was nowhere to be seen. "Well crud," Vinny stated with a shake of the head. "Guess da coordinates we were given were wrong. Better head back, then."

"Hold up, we might just have the wrong tree," Koover pondered, preventing Vinny from running back just yet.

"But we know we're in da fourth row, and the column is third from da end, and dis is a twenty by twenty section, so where's da error den?" Vinny wondered, dumbfounded as to where they could have made a mistake. His partner wasn't convinced, however, as he began to scan down each row of trees.

Suddenly, the realization hit him. "Vinny...the top row would be the first, as would the column on the left, correct?" The bodyguard nodded in cautious concurrence. "And that'd be, from our perspective, facing north, correct?"

"Correct...oh," Vinny trailed, registering their mistake.

"Since we accidentally passed the double-M section, we were looking at it facing south," Koover explained, already leading the way back to the bottom of their grove. "And since we didn't readjust ourselves to be looking at it from the right angle, what we considered to be M4, M18 would actually have been M17, M3."

**Koover: **_I'll admit, it was by attention deficit that caused us to go past our section of trees. Vinny, however, was adamant about leading us to the tree, maybe because he didn't trust me to do so. As such, not only did we end up at the wrong tree, but Vinny tried to lead us away after that. If we had gone back to the picnic table there's no question we would have lost tons of time, because Mamar and Sushie would have assumed that our set of coordinates was wrong, only for us to go hunting for two pairs that legitimately _were_ wrong._

The players corrected their error and positioned themselves back at the bottom of their grove. "Let's try dis again," Vinny mumbled as he led the way down what they felt convinced was the fourth row. Fortunately, seated in a basket at the base of the eighteenth tree, an orange medallion with the number **14** awaiting them.

"All right!" Koover cheered, grabbing the coin. "Now let's hustle out of here. We have a lot of time to make up."

* * *

><p>Elsewhere in the orchard, two females reluctantly accompanied each other as they searched for their basket, each convinced that the coordinates in their heads were the correct ones. Goombella decided to humor Nastasia by going with her choice first. "Even if you are wrong," Goombella mumbled, watching as Nastasia led them to the tree which, in her mind, would hold their yellow coin.<p>

"Yeah, at some point in your life, you're gonna need to learn to accept that you might actually be wrong, sister," Nastasia scoffed. "I understand that might be a hard feat for you, but it's true."

"And I certainly hope you aren't the professor on that class of humility," Goombella jeered. "So, you say it's B11, Q8?"

"I don't say, I know," Nastasia stated confidently. After counting out eleven rows, the secretary strutted all the way to the eighth tree. Her sanguine face quickly changed when it became apparent that there was no basket to be seen.

"Looks like we'll be classmates," the voice over her shoulder derided.

**Goombella: **_As I figured, Nastasia was mistaken, but we just had to verify that for ourselves. Suspicious? Maybe. Ridiculous? Definitely._

Nastasia regained her stern focus. "Fine. Whatever. Let's just hurry up, yours should still be close to here."

Goombella beamed. "I'll lead. 'B as in bean, 8, Q as in queen, 11.'" Fortunately, these coordinates were only three trees south and three east from where they currently stood. The archaeology graduate's confidence ran dry when she realized that, as with before, no medallion awaited them.

**Nastasia: **_If my coordinates were wrong, I took slight comfort in knowing that she too was wrong. Which sadly meant that all that time searching the orchard with her had been a complete waste. So actually, the real suspicion lies on the two players whose faulty information led us on that wild goose chase: Sushie and Mamar._

"See you in class. Looks like we've been schooled," Nastasia mumbled under her breath. Goombella rolled her eyes in frustration as they both ran back to seek error-free coordinates. Time was of the essence.

* * *

><p>The timekeepers were growing concerned. Their position offered them a frightening view of the slowly depleting water level, which had visibly decreased since they'd started the mission. Twenty minutes had passed, meaning that aside from the water which Pennington and Dimentio had added to the pool, only a third of the water present at the start remained.<p>

Pennington passed one of the buckets to Dimentio. Neither of them exchanged words: their attention was centered specifically on augmenting as much time to their ticking clock as possible.

This monotonous routine continued until Pennington abrasively dropped his bucket. "Look, this may come across as uncouth," he began, "but watching this excessive amount of water flow...well...it makes me have to...well..."

Dimentio smacked his forehead with a bucket. "You had better be kidding. You're quite the jokester. You can't seriously have to go _during the mission_?!"

"It will only be a moment!" Pennington pleaded, running off to conceal himself behind a rose bush thirty yards away. When he drew closer, his eyes weren't drawn to the rose bush, but to the immaculate device situated behind it.

**Pennington: **_Just as I had suspected, there was a much more effective process intended for the clock workers to utilize. The bucket system was hardly effectual at all, but I firmly recollect Dimentio trying to persuade me to not bother searching for an alternate way. It has long been an axiom of mine that the little things are the most important, and that discreet sabotage caused us to lose a considerable amount of time._

"Dimentio!" Pennington called out, forgetting about his bodily needs as he ran back to his partner. "There's a pump over there with a hose leading to the pool. I think we should give it a trial run, no?"

"You really are full of it," Dimentio accused, thrusting the bucket dropped earlier back into his arms. "We have buckets and a well. That's all. Accept it."

"Just! Look!" He directed Dimentio's gaze to the rose bush, pointing specifically at the contraption that was behind it. Dimentio's critical face relaxed upon discovering that Pennington was telling the truth. "Well? Are we going to attempt it or what?"

* * *

><p>Parakarry, following his earlier encounter with disaster, eyed the tree branches above him warily. Ms. Mowz took notice of this, which sent her into another fit of laughter. "I see fruits make you paranoid!" she snickered.<p>

"Oh definitely. I bet if I watched Wizard of Oz, I'd display symptoms of post-traumatic stress," he replied lightheartedly, able to laugh at his situation.

"Well, hopefully we can outrun the apple-throwers and find our next digit quickly," Bree reassured. She took the moment to grab one from a low-hanging limb and pretended to throw it in his direction before biting into the fruit. "Mmm hmm hmm, juicy!"

"You are one mysterious woman, you know that?" Parakarry mused, shaking his head as he ran onward. Then he paused. "Um...where do we need to go again?"

"Have you forgotten? It's..." Ms. Mowz's voice trailed as she tried to remember.

Parakarry's eyes widened. "You forgot?"

"Dearie, I don't see you jumping to fill me in on the answer either," she protested, shutting her eyes in concentration.

**Parakarry: **_Bree's a sly player. I suspect that she might be the Mole, which is why I wanted to see how she'd act by letting her take the lead. And what do you know? Sabotage._

"Um...I remember G15 ad T4...but I don't remember which one was latitudinal and which one was...longitudinal," Parakarry recalled. He sighed, realizing that those left two potential locations for their medallion.

"Fifty-fifty possibility, I suppose," Ms. Mowz resolved. Feeling guilty for forgetting, she allowed Parakarry to make the executive decision on which sector they would search first.

* * *

><p>Only one target remained intact. Big, bad, and blue. At this point, Peach and Bandy Andy had forgone their slingshots and were now just throwing pebbles desperately. The needed only one to make contact to give Mamar and Sushie the final two riddles.<p>

Peach watched one of the pebbles she'd hurled scrape the target without shattering it. "Great, another near hit. Maybe I should try using the slingshot again?"

"Your decision," Bandy Andy announced. "Ug, I just want to be done with this mission already.

_Smash!_

Both players were still for a moment in disbelief as they watched Bandy Andy's successful shot. Peach smiled. "Guess that decision was made easy!" She ran to retrieve both the blue and purple bags, happy to have completed their assignment. After delivering both bags to the clue solvers, Peach returned to a Bandit, sprawled out over the grass in exhaustion.

"So...now what do we do?" she asked, collapsing on the comfortable flowerbed beneath her. Bandy Andy shrugged his shoulders, staring up at the cumulus afternoon cloud formations forming above them.

"There are worse places to be than where we're at right now," he philosophized. Rolling back over onto his stomach, he watched the nearby scene of the the lily pool. "At least we have the peaceful sound of rushing water."

Peach turned over in panic. "If the water's rushing...let's hope everyone else is as well."

* * *

><p>Shortly after accepting the bags from Peach, the walkie-talkie buzzed. <em>"Sushie, Mamar! It's Koover! You there?"<em>

Sushie grabbed the device. "Koover! Good to hear from you! Do you have anything for us?"

_"Indeed I do! We found the orange number: fourteen!"_ Mamar, overhearing the conversation, seemed perplexed by their result.

"Is it even possible for them to have a two-digit number?" she wondered. Sushie shrugged her shoulders, handing the device to Mamar as she wen to check the combination lock.

"Hey Koover, are you positive the number is fourteen?"

_"Well, considering the orange medallion in Vinny's hand has it in bold black ink, I'd say that's affirmative."_

"Mamar!" Sushie called out. The Star Spirit ran over to check on the Cheep Cheep's input on the lock. The handle was protected by a number keypad with six individual slots. Both the nine that Sushie had entered earlier as well as the fourteen from Koover and Vinny had been accepted.

**Sushie:**_ It was weird for Mamar to question the legitimacy of the number. If we had solved our puzzle incorrectly, they wouldn't even have had a number to give us! And it's not like one of them could have been lying: there were two people on the receiving end, and it's not like both of them are the Mole._

"All right, the number worked," Mamar relayed warily. "Oh, but both of you wait! We should have a set of coordinates for you in just a moment!"

**BLUE**

**Three men have been accused of murder, but only one of them committed the crime. Each of them gives a statement to the detective:**

***A says "I didn't do it."**

***B says "C did it."**

***C says "A did it."**

**Two of them are lying, and only one is telling the truth. Which of them is most likely to be innocent?**

**A.) Suspect A:** (L3, F4)

**B.) Suspect B:** (N16, B20)

**C.) Suspect C: **(C3, Q2)

"We should solve this quickly," Mamar explained. "Koover and Vinny are over there waiting to receive."

"Well, let's make sure we get it right, at least," Sushie chuckled. She took another look at the enigma. "So basically, we need to decide who, based on the statements, is least likely to be the murderer. So basically, whoever is telling the truth."

"I wouldn't make that claim so readily," Mamar cautioned. "We aren't looking for the honest suspect, but the innocent one. So...let's say A is telling the truth. That would mean both B's and C's statements are phony, right?"

Sushie nodded. "If that's the case, then C couldn't have done it, because B's false testimony says he did it. So the answer is Suspect C?"

"But if that's the case, Suspect A would also be innocent. Because Suspect C would be lying, making A innocent." Mamar wrote the information on the blackboard, then frowned. "But how's that possible? There's only one murderer!"

Sushie grabbed the chalk and crossed off answer B. "But we can make one conjecture: if neither A nor C did it, then Suspect B's got blood on his hands." With one option eliminated, they had narrowed their choices down to two.

"Okay, now let's say B is telling the truth," Mamar suggested. "Then that would make C the murderer. But then again, if we believe Suspect C is telling the truth, that would make A the murderer."

The grandcheep banged her head against the blackboard in visible frustration. "So who's innocent then? Suspect C or Suspect A? Maybe even Suspect B? Did we do something wrong here?"

Mamar looked at the walkie-talkie, picturing an anxious pair of scavengers waiting to receive on the other end. "At this point, we can't keep them waiting. We just need to go with our gut, because this is getting us nowhere."

Sushie raised her fins in defeat. "In that case, B is for bad guy, C is for criminal, so how about Suspect A?" Neither of the two had a better lead, so Mamar gave her the go-for. "You still there Koover?"

A pause. _"Yes ma'm. You have something for us?"_

She let out a sigh of relief. "Thank heavens, I was worried nobody would pick up. Okay, here's your next set of coordinates: L3, F4. Repeat, L3, F4. Roger that?"

_"Roger that!"_ A gentle thud could be heard as the scavengers on the receiving end set down their walkie-talkie. The clue-solvers pictured the scene of them running into the orchard before their minds flashed to a different image that was playing out before them: the image of twenty-thousand coins at risk of sinking in the pool they stood beside.

"We'd better dive in to that last puzzle," Mamar warned, grabbing the purple bag and untying it rapidly. When she withdrew the card, however, her eyes widened. Sushie, concerned, peered over her shoulder to view the card, but it wasn't a puzzle that met her eyes. Rather, it was a statement even more puzzling than the five they had previously solved:

**PURPLE**

_**EXEMPTION**_

* * *

><p><strong>And thus concludes the penultimate portion of Episode 1! Yeesh. Episode 1, an it's already been two and a half years. At least this update came much quicker than the last, right? But without delay, allow me to respond to your much-appreciated reviews!<strong>

**GROSSGIRL18:**_Well, I am still kicking, and hopefully this update prevents you from doing so! Thank you so much for your wonderful review! I'm glad to have achieved an update over twelve times faster than what you'd expected. Yeah, I really ought to stop putting out such long chapters since it delays my update speed, but if I made a chapter for every time there was a horizontal line this chapter, there'd have been, like, twenty-four. :P I look forward to hearing more about your suspicions, especially after the start of mission 2._

**EVAN MONTGOMERY:** _Hey, maybe we have a convert. :P At the beginning of the story, I tried to provide an informative explanation of how the show The Mole works. If you're interested in more, you can find several episodes from multiple seasons in several countries all on Youtube. I also recommend reading the Mole stories of krisetchers and Princess Toady. Thank you for your suspicions! Hopefully the pattern is broken...for now, at least._

**PRINCESS TOADY:**_Thank you for your suspect list! It's nice to get a glimpse into your mind, especially from a Mole's perspective. :P And speaking of favorites, you probably listed my four favorites outside of this Mole story. Goombella and Parakarry are obviously more popular than Mamar or Bandy Andy are, but I'm happy I included them all the same. Like you, I enjoy having a balance between some better-knowns while also including several characters often forgotten in the series. It helps that all the characters are from the amazing universe that is Paper Mario, because they really don't appear anywhere outside of those games._

**OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS! As advertised at the beginning of this chapter, my Mole website has been published! Additionally, I have updated it since the last chapter to include a description of this mission as well as the first picture clue of the game. Hope it helps you in your sleuthing.**

**AND LASTLY! Please vote on the poll at the top of my profile! I'm curious to see who you as readers believe the Mole is! The results will be published as soon as the next chapter is published.**

**Thank you for the reviews! I'd love to hear what you think, users and anonymous alike. Hearing from you guys is an excellent motivator to help me write faster, and I truly appreciate it.**

**What will be the conclusion of the Pull the Plug mission? Stay tuned for the exciting end of Episode 1! :)**


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